Eric Rohlfing

Dr. Eric Rohlfing advises efforts by university leadership and faculty to 1) develop and execute a strategy for advancing energy science and technology and 2) cultivate technological innovation and entrepreneurship. He also mentors energy students.

He joined Duke after a distinguished career at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where he most recently served as senior technical advisor for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which advances high-potential, high-impact energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. During his tenure at DOE, Eric also served as acting director for ARPA-E, its deputy director for technology, and the director of the chemical sciences, geosciences, and biosciences division of DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Prior to joining DOE in Washington, Eric was a principal member of the technical staff at its Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia (‘77) and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Princeton University (‘82).

Eric lives in Durham with his wife (and Duke alumna) Dr. Celeste Rohlfing (T’79), the former chief operating officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Eric and Celeste are the parents of two Duke alumnae: Meg (T’09) and Anne (T’12, M’16).