Ashley White is the head of strategic development and communications for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Energy Sciences Area and the interim deputy for strategy for the Advanced Light Source, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science synchrotron light source user facility at Berkeley Lab. In these roles, she draws on her background as a materials researcher and science policy advisor to inform science strategy and convey key accomplishments to current and potential facility users and the science research community, federal funders and policymakers, and the general public.
Prior to joining Berkeley Lab, White served as an MRS/OSA Congressional Science & Engineering Fellow in the U.S. Senate and as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Materials Research. She also previously managed the materials research program at the U.S. Green Building Council. She received a PhD degree in materials science from the University of Cambridge, and a BS and BA in materials science and engineering and music, respectively, from Virginia Tech. She is a past recipient of the MRS Woody White Service Award. White’s MRS volunteer activities include serving as meeting chair for the 2023 MRS Spring Meeting & Exhibit, chairing the Focus on Sustainability subcommittee, and serving on the editorial advisory board of MRS Energy & Sustainability.