Ellen B. Stechel

Co-Director, ASU LightWorks®; Executive Director, Center for an Arizona Carbon-Neutral Economy (AzCaNE); Professor of Practice, School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University

Ambassador

Ellen B. Stechel is an internationally recognized leader in clean-energy innovation. At Arizona State University she co-leads LightWorks®, a University-wide energy and sustainability initiative; directs AzCaNE’s efforts to build a low-carbon economy across Arizona and the Southwest; and serves as a Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. She also holds appointments spanning Barrett Honors College, the School of Sustainability, and the graduate faculties of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, mentoring transdisciplinary teams of undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral researchers.

Stechel spent nearly 25 years at Sandia National Laboratories—17 years before, and 7.5 years after, a mid-career tenure at Ford Motor Company. At Sandia she launched and managed programs in computational materials and surface science, solar-thermochemical fuels and storage, concentrating-solar technologies, and systems engineering for national and energy security. At Ford she led R&D strategy on air quality, climate, and low-emission technologies. An assignment with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security focused on technology transfer and transition. In addition to her ASU roles, Stechel currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Four Corners Clean Energy Alliance and contributes internationally in advisory and editorial capacities.

Stechel earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from the University of Chicago. Her current research integrates materials discovery with reactor and systems design and techno-economic analysis to advance sustainable liquid hydrocarbons from CO₂, low-carbon hydrogen via advanced water splitting, renewable ammonia, atmospheric water harvesting, industrial heat, and thermochemical energy storage—technologies that underpin resilient, affordable, net-zero supply chains.

Author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and patents, Stechel is a frequently invited speaker and panelist, and a dedicated champion of experiential, collaborative, and inclusive workforce development.