William Olbricht

Dr. Olbricht is the Deputy Division Director (DDD) for the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG). He previously served as Acting CBET DDD. Prior to that he was the program director for CBET’s particulate and multiphase processes program, first during 2023-2017, and again beginning in 2019. He has been involved in numerous NSF and ENG activities for research and education, such as a partnership for research onboard the International Space Station National Lab, and co-leadership of the NSF-wide Future Manufacturing program, for which he won a Director’s Group Award in 2021. 

Dr. Olbricht came to NSF from Cornell University, where most recently he was a professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering. He served as chair of chemical engineering and interim chair of biomedical engineering, and he directed the graduate programs of both departments for 13 years. He is also a three-time recipient of excellence in teaching awards in the College of Engineering at Cornell.

Dr. Olbricht received a B.S. degree from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology, both in chemical engineering. His research involved the application of fluid dynamics and mass transfer to problems of biological, biomedical, and industrial interest. His recent work focused on improving drug delivery to the brain for neurological disorders and primary brain tumors. He was the scientific cofounder of Alcyone Lifesciences, which translated his laboratory work to clinical trials.<