Dr. Kelly Sanders is Assistant Director for Energy Systems Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she advises on strategies to accelerate the adoption of early-stage clean energy and grid modernization technologies. Dr. Sanders also serves as an Associate Professor in the University of Southern California’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications on topics at the intersection of engineering and policy.

She has been recognized in Forbes’ 30 under 30 in energy, MIT Technology Review’s 35 innovators under 35, and American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists 40 under 40 for her contributions to the energy field. In 2019, she was granted an NSF Early CAREER award. Her research and commentary have been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, WIRED magazine, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Scientific American. Sanders received her B.S. in Bioengineering from the Pennsylvania State University, as well M.S.E and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, respectively.