Dr. Elise Goldfine currently serves as a Fellow at ARPA-E. Her technical interests include primary energy, energy storage, mining technologies, and decarbonization of industrial processes.

Dr. Goldfine earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University in 2023. Her Ph.D. research focused on synthesis and characterization of oxynitride materials for catalytic applications. She also holds a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University, where she studied deposition of nanoparticle electrodes for batteries and fuel cells. Dr. Goldfine also previously researched reconfigurable liquid-liquid interfaces at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and worked as a development engineer at Tessolar Inc., a startup working on novel solar module design.

Structural Geology

I'm a structural geologist with a broad focus on the crustal architecture of continents, especially the history and form of their sedimentary overlays. I'm also a cyclist, sailor, violinist, and lover of maps.

During my PhD at Caltech (2012-18), I used structural mapping, tectonics, and stratigraphy to investigate ancient environments, working primarily in southern Africa, western North America, and Northeast Syrtis Major, Mars.

Geoinformatics

As a research scientist in the Macrostrat lab at University of Wisconsin – Madison (since 2019), I have built a strong focus in geoinformatics, building sophisticated software to solve research problems in remote sensing, field mapping, geochronology data systems, machine reading, and other domains.

I believe in the power of adventurous software to enrich our processes for data capture, visualization, and integration across the geosciences. Flexible and intentionally designed computing infrastructure can lay the groundwork for fundamentally new avenues of research.

Dr. Jeffrey S. Thompson serves as the Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Nevada, Reno. Dr. Thompson came to the role with extensive leadership and administrative expertise. In each of his administrative leadership roles, Dr. Thompson has remained devoted to advancing the reputation of the University with a focus on student success, wellbeing and belonging. In his current role, Dr. Thompson has championed several first-of-their-kind student-serving initiatives, including the Digital Wolf Pack Initiative, Collegiate Academy program, and TechWise. Additionally, Dr. Thompson was instrumental in the designation as the Nevada Lithium Batteries and Other EV Material Loop (Nevada Tech Hub).

In 1991, he joined the faculty in the Physics Department at the University of Nevada, Reno, at which time he started a research laboratory in experimental atomic and molecular physics. As a dedicated mentor, many of his students have gone on to illustrious careers in research and academia and have maintained deep connections to the University. He served as Physics Department Chair and Associate Dean of the College of Science prior to becoming Dean of the College of Science in 2008 before his appointment to Executive Vice President and Provost in 2020.