# Rachel Slaybaugh

> Rachel Slaybaugh is a General Partner at DCVC, the deep tech venture firm, where she leads climate, sustainability, and energy investments. A nuclear engineer by training - she once operated a reactor as an undergrad at Penn State - she spent eight years as a tenured Associate Professor at UC Berkeley, ran the Cyclotron Road accelerator division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and served as a Program Director at the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E, where she created the nuclear fission program and helped fund over 30 companies. She co-founded the Good Energy Collective and the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp, and now backs companies like Fervo Energy, Brimstone, Radiant Industries, Zap Energy, Fourth Power, and Equilibrium Energy at DCVC.

- **Role:** General Partner at DCVC
- **Organizations:** DCVC, Good Energy Collective, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, ARPA-E, Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp, LabStart
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, M.S. in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics; Certificate in Energy Analysis and Policy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- **Known for:** Created the nuclear fission programs at ARPA-E (MEITNER, LISA, GEMINA), resulting in catalytic funding for 30+ companies, Founded the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp at UC Berkeley (2016), now an annual event helping nuclear researchers commercialize technologies, Co-founded the Good Energy Collective, a nuclear energy policy research organization

## Career timeline

- **~2002** — Enrolled at Penn State on a women-in-science scholarship; accidentally discovered nuclear engineering
- **~2002-2006** — Became a licensed nuclear reactor operator at Penn State's research reactor
- **~2006-2011** — PhD research at University of Wisconsin-Madison in numerical methods for neutron transport
- **~2011-2019** — Associate Professor (tenured) of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley; founded Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp
- **2016** — Founded the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp at UC Berkeley
- **~2017-2020** — Division Director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, managing the Cyclotron Road Division
- **~2019-2021** — Program Director at U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E; created MEITNER, LISA, and GEMINA nuclear fission programs
- **2020** — Co-founded Good Energy Collective, serving as Board Chair
- **2021** — Served on Biden-Harris DOE Agency Review Team
- **2022** — Joined DCVC as Principal, focused on climate, sustainability, and energy investments
- **2022** — Board Observer at Brimstone Energy (March 2022)
- **2023** — Promoted to Partner at DCVC; DCVC launched dedicated climate fund
- **2023** — Board Member at Fourth Power (November 2023); Board Member at Equilibrium Energy (December 2023)
- **2024** — Board Member at Fervo Energy (February 2024); promoted to General Partner at DCVC
- **2024** — Investor Board Member at Radiant Industries (November 2024)
- **2025** — Serving on SCSP Fusion Commission

## Achievements

- Created the nuclear fission programs at ARPA-E (MEITNER, LISA, GEMINA), resulting in catalytic funding for 30+ companies
- Founded the Nuclear Innovation Bootcamp at UC Berkeley (2016), now an annual event helping nuclear researchers commercialize technologies
- Co-founded the Good Energy Collective, a nuclear energy policy research organization
- Tenured Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering at UC Berkeley at a young age
- Licensed nuclear reactor operator (Penn State)
- Led the Cyclotron Road Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Board positions at Fervo Energy, Fourth Power, Radiant Industries, Equilibrium Energy; observer at Brimstone
- Served on Biden-Harris DOE Agency Review Team (2021)
- Member of Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee (NEAC)
- Featured on Worth Magazine's list of notable women in finance
- Participated in SCSP Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Commented publicly on climate investing resilience under Trump administration (Axios)
- **2024-11** — Joined board of Radiant Industries following $300M+ Series D
- **2024-02** — Joined board of Fervo Energy as People and Culture Committee Chair
- **2024-01** — Promoted to General Partner at DCVC
- **2023-12** — Joined board of Equilibrium Energy
- **2023-11** — Joined board of Fourth Power

## Links

- Website: https://dcvc.com/team/rachel-slaybaugh/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rslaybaugh
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/RachelSlaybaugh
- GitHub: https://github.com/rachelslaybaugh

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/rachel-slaybaugh
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17