Dr Katherine Ayers joined Proton OnSite in 2007 and is currently Vice President of Research and Development. Her technical expertise spans multiple electrochemical devices including batteries, fuel cells/electrolyzers, and solar cells. She has responsibility for Proton’s R&D strategy in membrane-based electrochemical devices, and maintaining and executing Proton’s multi-year technology roadmap. She is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), established in 2010 as a U.S. Department of Energy Energy Innovation Hub with lead member institutions Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Prior to joining Proton, Dr. Ayers spent 10 years at Energizer Battery Company, with responsibility for strategic materials direction, diagnosis of polarization losses and low battery service, and fundamental insight on other production issues. She received her B.S. degree in Chemistry/Chemical Physics at U.C. San Diego and was awarded the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship in 1991. She also received the Urey Award as the top chemistry graduate in 1993. She attended Caltech on an NSF Graduate Fellowship (1993-1996) and earned her Ph.D. in chemistry under the direction of Professor Nathan Lewis in 1997.