Chief Scientific Officer

The W. M. Keck Foundation, a major philanthropy founded in Los Angeles in 1954, has appointed Dr. Beth Pruitt to serve as its inaugural Chief Scientific Officer. The Foundation's mission is "to create far-reaching benefits for humanity by supporting both outstanding science, engineering & medical research, and organizations that enrich the lives of children, youth and families." As Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Pruitt will lead the Foundation’s research strategy, foster scientific collaborations, and serve as a key ambassador for its mission. Her vision and expertise will be instrumental in shaping the future of the programs at the Foundation and expanding its impact across the scientific community.

Dr. Pruitt comes to the W. M. Keck Foundation from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where as a professor since 2018, she played a pivotal role in establishing the Department of Bioengineering and served as its Founding Chair. Her academic career began at Stanford as a professor in Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering. She holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and both an M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. She also completed postdoctoral training in microtechnology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne.

Dr. Pruitt’s career is also distinguished by her service. A Navy R.O.T.C. scholar at MIT, she served as a U.S. Navy officer between her graduate degrees, with tours at the Navy’s nuclear engineering headquarters and teaching Systems Engineering and offshore sailing at the U.S. Naval Academy. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the NSF CAREER Award, DARPA Young Faculty Award, Denice Denton Leadership Award, NSF BRITE Fellow Award, and the Emerald Foundation Distinguished Investigator Award. She is an elected Fellow of the AAAS, ASME, AIMBE, and BMES.

Courtney Wilk-Mandel led this search with Silvia Cheng and Cara Meyers.