Elisabeth B. Reynolds, Ph.D.

Elisabeth B. Reynolds, Ph.D., is Professor of the Practice in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She was Special Assistant to President Biden for Manufacturing and Economic Development at the National Economic Council (NEC, 2021-2022) where she helped lead the Administration’s work on national manufacturing strategy, supply chain resilience and industrial strategy. Before working at the NEC, Reynolds was a Principal Research Scientist and executive director of the MIT Industrial Performance Center (2010-2021), an interdisciplinary research center focused on systems of innovation and industrial transformation. She also co-led the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future (2018-2021) which examined the relationship between emerging technologies and work. Reynolds’ work and research focus on systems of innovation and manufacturing including growing innovative firms to scale and digital technology adoption.  

Reynolds has worked on rebuilding manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. in a number of capacities including advising three Massachusetts governors. She is on the board of the non-profits, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) and the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) as well as an advisor to the Special Competitive Studies Project, a Washington think tank focused on national security and critical technologies.