Dr. Steven Griffiths is Professor and Vice Chancellor for Research at the American University of Sharjah (AUS). Prior to joining AUS, he served as Senior Vice President for Research and Development (R&D) and Professor of Practice at the Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU), where he designed, implemented and led the university’s research functions when the university was formed in 2017 through the merger of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Petroleum Institute and the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research. During his tenure as Senior Vice President for R&D at KU, the university rose rapidly in international university rankings and was established as the top research university in the United Arab Emirates and one of the top 200 research universities globally. As Professor, Dr. Griffiths continues his frequently cited work on energy technology development and adoption within a sociotechnical systems context.

Dr. Griffiths has been a member of the Emirates Research and Development Council, a Zayed Sustainability Prize Selection Committee member, a member of the Dubai Future Council on Energy, advisor to the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, a member of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Expert Group Subcommittee of the UAE Council for AI & Blockchain, an elected member of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, a Board member of Human CorpMission established by the Rosatom Corporate Academy and the Higher School of Economics National Research University and a board member of Graphene Innovations Manchester. He advised the government of Alberta, Canada on provincial innovation system structuring throughout 2014 and continues to support the global advancement of research and innovation via evaluator and mentor roles in regional and international research and innovation competitions and programs.

Dr. Griffiths is Associate Editor of Elsevier’s journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Editorial Board member of Elsevier’s journal Energy Strategy Reviews and Editorial Board member of Elsevier’s journal Smart Energy. He further is a non-resident Fellow of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, which is a leading Institute focused on energy, natural resource and environmental policy.

Prior to his position at Khalifa University, Dr. Griffiths was Vice President for Research and Associate Provost at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. Dr. Griffiths transitioned to the Masdar Institute from his role as Executive Director of the Technology and Development Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is a position he undertook while simultaneously serving as the Founding Executive Vice President and Chief Technologist of Light Pharma Incorporated.

Dr. Griffiths holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.