About

Andrea Belz, Professor of Practice in the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, has previously guided strategic planning for world-class innovators including Avery Dennison, BP, California Institute of Technology, Children's Hospital-Los Angeles, CVI Melles Griot, Korea Institute for the Advancement of Technology, National Academy of Engineering, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Occidental Petroleum, and UCLA.  

From 2019-2022, Professor Belz served as Division Director at the National Science Foundation, where she oversaw the principal applied and translational research programs, including Small Business Innovation Research, Small Business Technology Transfer, and the prestigious I-Corps entrepreneurial training program.  Her responsibilities included oversight of $300+ M in annual appropriations and representing the agency throughout the federal government. She has since returned to her faculty position at USC Viterbi. 

The author of The McGraw-Hill 36 Hour Course: Product Development, Dr. Belz has also consulted to many venture capital firms and university technology startups.  She was the first woman to represent the Pasadena Angels on a portfolio company board, serving as a Director of Caltech laser spinoff manufacturer Ondax until its acquisition in 2018 by Coherent (NASD:COHR). Professor Belz's recent research interests focus on management of technology portfolios, such as Internal Research and Development programs, in public and private organizations. She holds a B.S. in physics from the University of Maryland at College Park, a Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology, and an M.B.A. in finance from the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business.