Ticora V. Jones

Ticora V. Jones, Ph.D. is Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator and Acting Director for the Innovation, Technology, and Research (ITR) Hub, the Agency Chief Scientist, and Managing Director for Research in the ITR Hub of the U.S. Agency for International Development. She manages research and development programs for the Agency that build bridges between development professionals and universities through a multidisciplinary lens on science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Beginning in 2009 as a AAAS Diplomacy, Security, and Development Fellow, she helped manage the establishment of an Agency-wide agenda for science and technology through policy and programming designed to elevate USAID’s presence in this area.

Prior to joining USAID, Dr. Jones served as the 2008-2009 Materials Societies Congressional Fellow for Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) where she worked on energy and environment issues. Before beginning her congressional fellowship, Dr. Jones conducted post-doctoral research focused on creating and characterizing nanoparticle/composite-based functional materials at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Dr. Jones earned her B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT and her Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.