NSF SBIR Program Director

**Dr. Ruth Chen** (fictional composite) is a Program Director in the **National Science Foundation's (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) / Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program**, also known as "America's Seed Fund." She oversees a portfolio of approximately $200 million in annual awards to small businesses and startups developing innovative technologies with commercial potential. She holds a PhD in Materials Science from Stanford, was a postdoc at Argonne National Lab, and spent 8 years as a professor at Georgia Tech before joining NSF.