Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell serves as senior vice president for research and innovation at the University of Arizona (UArizona). Reporting to UArizona President Robert C. Robbins, Cantwell is responsible for a $770M annual research portfolio, a department staff more than 800, and an annual operating budget of $60M. In addition to more than 15 centers and institutes as well as a suite of highly specialized, state-of-the-art core facilities, Cantwell’s purview includes the nearly 1,300-acre UA Tech Park, one of the nation’s premier university research parks with more than tenants such as IBM and Raytheon. The UA Tech Park contributes $1.7B annually to the regional economy.

Prior to her role at UArizona, Cantwell served as Arizona State University’s (ASU) vice president for research and development and the CEO of the ASU Research Enterprise, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to commercializing research and innovation. There she directed a $45M annual budget and a staff of 150. Prior to ASU, Cantwell served at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as director for economic development and director for engineering mission strategy. Cantwell spearheaded a bold, forward-thinking strategy for LLNL to advance innovation and enhance national economic competitiveness while helping to establish the Livermore Valley Open Campus. From 2008 to 2010, she served as deputy associate director for global security at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where she worked with the federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Prior to her tenure at ORNL, Cantwell served as division leader for the International and Space Research Division and director for the Threat Reduction Directorate Office of Strategy at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Earlier, Cantwell spent a decade at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where she helped stand up the Homeland Security organization after 9/11. She spent several years at NASA headquarters as a program manager for the life and microgravity sciences, and conducted research at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Ames Research Center, and Glenn Research Center.

Cantwell received her PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley; her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and her BA in human behavior from the University of Chicago.

She was a member of the 2020 National Academy of Sciences Engineering and Medicine Strategic Planning Committee; a member of a number of National Academies studies in space science and space systems engineering; and has served as the co-chair of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board.