Bio

Meet Dr. Deborah D. Stine...

Dr. Deborah D. Stine is the Founder & Chief Instructor of the Science & Technology Policy Academy.  She is a freelance consultant, policy analyst, writer, video producer, professor, teacher, trainer, and study director whose career has been dedicated to translating science and technology to policymakers, the public, students, and investors AND translating policymakers, the public, students, and investors to the science and technology community. 

She has taught classes at many organizations including the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences at NIH, Rutgers University, the University of Idaho, Notre Dame, Princeton, Penn State, Ohio State, North Carolina State, West Virginia University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Virginia Tech, and the MOST (Missouri) Policy Initiative. She was also a visiting professor in engineering studies at Lafayette College.

Consulting clients include the Energy Futures Initiative, Catalyst Connection (manufacturing), Cleaner Cooking Coalition, and West Virginia University, where she has acted as study director for two studies on the Waters of West Virginia and Carbon Dioxide Reduction.  

She was Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) at the White House from 2009-2012, during the first three years of the Obama Administration. During that time, she was the study director on a wide variety of science and technology policy topics including advanced manufacturing, spectrum allocation, influenza vaccine production, nanotechnology, networking and information technology, ecosystems and the economy, and STEM education that led to Obama Administration initiatives.

At Carnegie Mellon, Dr. Stine was a Professor of the Practice for the Engineering and Public Policy Department and Associate Director for Policy Outreach for the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation from 2012-2018. Dr. Stine received the Carnegie Science Communication Award for her communication activities, particularly videos, for her work at Carnegie Mellon.   

From 2007-2009, she was a science and technology policy specialist with the Congressional Research Service. There she wrote reports on many topics including a comparison of the Apollo program, Manhattan project, and Energy Research & Development programs; science and technology diplomacy; a primer on science and technology policy, ARPA-E, and the America COMPETES Act.

From 1989-2007, she was at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine – where she was associate director of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy; director of the National Academies Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship Program; and director of the Office of Special Projects.  While there, she received the highest staff award from the National Academies. She was the study director for the Rising Above the Gathering Storm report that led to the America COMPETES Act and the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

Prior to coming to the Academies, she was a mathematician for the Air Force, an air-pollution engineer for the state of Texas, and an air-issues manager for the Chemical Manufacturers Association.  She was also President of the League of Women Voters of Corpus Christi, and a member of the League’s Texas Board of Directors.

She holds a BS in mechanical and environmental engineering from the University of California, Irvine, an MBA from what is now Texas A&M at Corpus Christi, and a PhD in public administration with a focus on science and technology policy analysis from American University.  She resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.