Miles Palmer, MA ’78, PhD ’80

Miles Palmer is a nationally recognized engineer, entrepreneur, and scientist whose innovations have impacted energy and transportation technologies worldwide. He is the founder of 8 Rivers Capital, an energy technology commercialization firm known for pioneering decarbonized infrastructure solutions. He also co-founded NET Power (NYSE: NPWR), a public company developing zero-emission power generation systems. Both companies have achieved billion-dollar valuations.

Earlier in his career, Palmer served as an Air Force flight test engineer and was the youngest officer ever nominated for astronaut duty. Over his career, he has authored or co-authored more than 700 patents and publications and has received national awards from the Department of Defense, the U.S. Congress, the President, and a Fortune 500 company.

Miles holds dual bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned both his MA and PhD in chemistry from UC San Diego.

He currently serves on the boards of TROSA—the nation's most successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation program—and BestWorld, a startup using AI to combat fake news and social polarization.

Married for 50 years with two sons, Miles has moved around the U.S. 18 times in pursuit of his career.  Miles is deeply committed to the future of innovation and education at UC San Diego and will be assisting the UCSD Innovation Center and numerous UCSD startups in aerospace, biotechnology, and medicine after retiring this year from 8 Rivers.