Prime Movers Lab Team Spotlight: Anna Thomas
Prime Movers Lab recently welcomed Anna Thomas as our newest Aerospace Engineer & Partner. In this role, she’ll promote a future of exploration and connectedness through key advancements in space, aviation, and transportation that also benefit the planet.
Prior to joining Prime Movers Lab, Anna spent time in management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton, supporting government clients by founding and scaling novel data science and venture programs as well as managing large programs dedicated to providing funding and advising to startups to enable innovation in natural carbon solutions. Before consulting, Anna spent time at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as a fellow and principal investigator, building a new laboratory capability leveraging infrared spectroscopy to study the ignition chemistry of alternative fuels for ground and aviation applications.
Anna received a PhD and MS from Stanford University in Aeronautics and Astronautics with a focus on the physical chemistry and ignition of green propellants for in-space propulsion applications. Anna also has a degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and was awarded a Fulbright to Germany to research combustion physics for aircraft turbine engines. Anna is an adventurer who loves the outdoors, spending time with her dogs, traveling around the globe, building things, and practicing languages.
We recently caught up with Anna to discuss and the value of the country’s national labs. Read the full interview below:
What attracted you to Prime Movers Lab?
The people. Not only does Prime Movers Lab have a strong portfolio, but the team and community at PML is also what ultimately drew me to join the team. The diversity of backgrounds that the team has and the collaborative culture is unique and so valuable for having a fulfilling and successful career. PML also leads with a strong technical understanding in the areas they invest in, providing a great home for my deep technical background. Having that technical understanding leads to better investments and a better ability to understand where our future can head when considering scientific breakthroughs. This foundation at PML provides me the opportunity to have a positive impact on the world.
You previously worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO. Can you explain why national labs like NREL are so critical to the nation’s competitiveness and science landscape?
Much of the innovation we need to enact positive change on the world will start in a lab. National labs like NREL are critical incubators of the scientific breakthroughs required to tackle huge challenges facing the world, such as climate change. National Labs are also filled with extremely passionate and talented individuals who want to make a positive change in the world. Our progress as a nation and for science at large depends on these individuals and organizations to create possibilities for a better future for everyone.
What drew you to a career in aerospace and aviation engineering?
TL;DR: Fire and explosions have pretty cool chemistry, and I love chemistry.
I went through most of my chemical engineering undergrad at Georgia Tech convinced I was going to be a medical doctor. I completed all the pre-med requirements and led research projects in synthetic biology. I was intrigued by the problem-solving aspects of a career in medicine — taking a bunch of symptoms and reducing it down to a diagnosis. I didn’t grow up knowing any engineers, so it took time for me to really understand that engineering is the ultimate problem-solving career. As for finding my way to aerospace out of a chemical engineering/pre-med program, I have wonderful mentors to thank for that. I would have loved a career in medicine, no doubt, but my mentors at NASA showed me that my love of all things chemistry could be applied to something earth-shaking (literally) like rocket and jet propulsion. After that, I didn’t turn back and focused on jet and rocket propulsion for more internships, a Fulbright to Germany, and my doctoral work at Stanford, Boeing, and the Air Force where I officially became an accredited pyro.
What scientific breakthroughs on the horizon are you the most excited about?
I get really excited about the intersection of aerospace and climate/sustainability. This intersection can include taking care of our planet by lowering the impact of air travel or ensuring a sustainable future for space exploration by promoting the removal or reuse of spacecraft and satellites in orbit. As a travel enthusiast with family across two continents, I am really looking forward to the day when I can hop on a jet-powered by sustainable aviation fuel or a zero-emissions hybrid, electric, or hydrogen-powered aircraft.
What are your passions outside of work?
I love adventure and exploring, whether that’s exploring the backcountry with my dogs in Colorado or walking around a small, unknown town in the middle of Europe with my husband. Traveling and living in different areas of the world is a huge part of what has made me the person I am today. I love learning about other people, the way they live, and the languages they speak. I also enjoy activities like biking, skiing, scuba diving, sailing…really anything that gets me outside in the mountains or on the sea and enjoying our beautiful planet.
Have you read anything lately that inspired you or you think would interest our founders/LPs?
The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain by Brock L. Eide, M.D., M.A. and Fernette F. Eide, M.D.
When I’m not reading non-fiction or books about famous (for better or worse) entrepreneurs, I am reading books related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. While most books I read focus on gender and/or race, this book about the dyslexic processing style really stood out and helped me rethink the way I see my own dyslexic thinking and others with neurodivergent processing styles. I have long believed that dyslexia was my super-power, but not without a lot of frustration and moments of lost hope when the world just doesn’t seem to understand why I am the way I am. This book helped validate my perspective and gave me some more data to help others understand as well. Not fitting the mold can be a huge challenge and an even bigger advantage simultaneously, and I think this book is incredibly valuable for the neurodivergent and/or leaders who want to understand and harness the power of alternative ways of thinking.
Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.
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