Barbara Burger, PhD

Barbara J. Burger, PhD., is a Chevron “graduate” where she finished as the Vice President, Innovation and President, Chevron Technology Ventures. During her career, Burger held leadership positions across the company’s businesses as well as a wide range of civic and industry organizations.

In this chapter, she remains focused on the challenges in energy transition, equity, and access to education. She has built an advisory and director portfolio with firms including Bloom Energy, Heliogen, Milestone Environmental Services, Emerald Technology Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Marunouchi Innovation Partners, Greentown Labs, Syzygy Plasmonics, and Epicore Biosystems. She also proudly serves as the Board President of the Houston Symphony.

Burger is a University of Rochester alumnus where she serves on the Board of Trustees and chairs the River Campus Libraries National Council. She established the Barbara J. Burger Endowed Scholarship in the Sciences and the Barbara J. Burger iZone, where students generate, refine, and communicate ideas for social, cultural, community, and economic impact. At Caltech, she supports graduate women in Chemistry who will pursue careers beyond academia and serves on the Resnick Sustainability Institute Strategic Advisory Board.

Burger holds a BS, Chemistry from the University of Rochester, a PhD, Chemistry from Caltech and an MBA from UC Berkeley.