Headshot of ARPA-E Program Director Dr. Douglas Wicks

Dr. Douglas Wicks

Program Director

Dr. Douglas Wicks currently serves as a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E). His focus at ARPA-E is on waste-to-energy technologies.  

Wicks joins ARPA-E from Imerys, a French industrial minerals production and processing company, where he was most recently the Director of Transformational and External Innovation. At Imerys, he developed an innovation network comprised of academic, contract research organizations, start-ups and strategic partners. Before joining Imerys, Wicks worked in a variety of roles at several start-up companies focused on innovative materials. Dr. Wicks began his career at Bayer Corporation, where he ultimately became Vice President of Research for the Coatings and Colorants division.

Wicks earned a B.S. in Chemistry from North Dakota State University and a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Technical Focus: Critical Materials; Industrial Decarbonization