CSIS Names Chris Fall Vice President of the Economic Security and Technology Department

WASHINGTON, DC – October 13, 2026 – The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) today announced that Dr. Chris Fall has joined the Economic Security and Technology (EST) Department as vice president. Fall brings to CSIS a unique breadth and depth of experience at the highest levels of American science and technology policymaking to help shape the department’s strategic direction and scale its impact across the most critical areas of economic policy and emerging technologies.

“Chris is one of the country’s foremost science and technology leaders, trusted by administrations of both parties,” said Navin Girishankar, president of the Economic Security and Technology Department. “He will help lead our work to revitalize the American scientific enterprise and its role in technology innovation and national security.”

At CSIS, Fall will work closely with Girishankar to advance EST’s work on American science and technology policy, including quantum, biotech, and artificial intelligence regulation and safety. He will help drive EST’s integrated research products and play a leading role in advancing a research portfolio at the intersection of American science and national security.

Prior to CSIS, Fall served as senior advisor to the deputy secretary of commerce and also as the acting director of the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. He directed the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy, where he oversaw $7 billion in annual research and 10 national laboratories. At DOE, he also served as acting director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E).

Prior to his tenure at DOE, Fall led the national security and international affairs team at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and held senior leadership roles at the Office of Naval Research. He was also vice president for applied sciences at the MITRE Corporation, where he led scientists and engineers across a wide array of topics. A neuroscientist by training, he has also worked in the biotech industry. He also served as a non-resident fellow with EST’s Renewing American Innovation program.

“Many of the most consequential national and global problems and opportunities involve science, technology, and innovation. I am thrilled to be able to contribute to the trusted analysis and thoughtful solutions that CSIS and the Economic Security and Technology team offer toward these challenges,” said Fall.

Fall holds a PhD in neuroscience and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California Davis Institute for Theoretical Dynamics and the New York University Center for Neural Science.

CSIS’s Economic Security and Technology Department is a center of excellence for strategic insights and policy solutions for the United States and its partners to promote economic dynamism and sustain technological advantages essential to their growth, security, and global influence. Explore the department’s latest work here.

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