Dr. Caitlin Callaghan is the Director of Storage Materials & Systems at the Office of Electricity (OE) in the U.S. Department of Energy. Her team evaluates and advances high-potential energy storage technologies to reach the prototype stage. This includes identifying future supply chain and workforce requirements and leveraging DOE-wide efforts to serve expected deployment targets.
Caitlin has more than 15 years of experience working in different capacities across the energy sector. She returned to OE after serving as the Research and Engineering Division Chief at USACE’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. While there, Caitlin also served as a research general engineer where she started a Cold Regions Energy Research Development Testing and Evaluation (RDTE) program and as a Code 4 Supervisor and Branch Chief within the Engineering Resources Branch.
Caitlin previously served in OE’s Transmission Permitting and Technical Assistance Division. In this capacity, Caitlin led OE's energy-water nexus efforts and provided expertise regarding environmental aspects of the electricity system. She was also the Program Lead for OE's Electricity Policy Technical Assistance Program, which provided unbiased technical assistance to localities, states, regions, and tribes on their electricity-related policies through analysis, stakeholder-convened discussions, education and training, and consultations with technical experts.
Caitlin also spent time with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow, working on energy and environmental issues associated with the electricity sector.
Caitlin holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School, a Ph.D. and MS in Chemical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.