Biography
Dr. Elizabeth Donley is internationally recognized for advancing time and frequency standards critical to science and global infrastructure. After her PhD from the ETH Zürich and a postdoc at JILA, she began her timekeeping career at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where she served for 23 years, ultimately leading the Time and Frequency Division as Chief from 2018 to 2025. At NIST, she led pioneering research in atomic clocks and quantum sensors and played a central role in the international effort to redefine the SI second. She has been honored with two Department of Commerce Gold Medals, the IEEE Sawyer Award, and the IEEE Rabi Award, recognizing her leadership in measurement science. Today, she works with industry to accelerate the adoption and advancement of cutting-edge time and frequency technologies, shaping the future of precision measurement. She also serves as Vice President of Frequency Control for the IEEE UFFC Society.