Martha Crawford Heitzmann
Encyclopedia
Martha Crawford Heitzmann (born September 30, 1967) is head of research and innovation on the managing board of Areva
, the French state-owned nuclear power conglomerate. One of a very few Americans in the upper ranks of French business, she has a professional background in environmental policy and engineering. A dual national (US and French) based in Paris
, she joined Areva in March 2011 after three years as vice president for group research and development
at Air Liquide
, one of the top 40 private-sector companies in France
. There she was responsible for setting strategic direction and leading Air Liquide’s R&D activities worldwide.
Born Martha Crawford in Tucson, Arizona
, she grew up on a ranch north of Tucson and attended University High School
, a public school for the academically gifted and talented. She studied ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona
in Tucson on an Arizona Board of Regents
academic scholarship and a fellowship from the E. Blois du Bois Foundation of Phoenix, Arizona
. After graduating in 1989 she worked as an environmental policy intern in the office of Senator Al Gore
in Washington, D.C.
, then as adviser to the head of the Environmental Protection Authority in the republic of the Marshall Islands
in Micronesia
. She returned to the United States in 1992 to pursue her master’s degree and PhD in environmental engineering at Harvard University
(with master’s coursework and PhD supervision in chemical engineering based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
). She was awarded the PhD in 1996, shortly after marrying Pierre Heitzmann, a Frenchman studying law in the United States. They moved in 1997 to Paris, where Martha received her Master of Business Administration
degree from the Collège des Ingénieurs
.
She was named vice president of research and development for Air Liquide in 2007 after holding positions at Suez S.A. and, from 1999, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
, where she was an analyst and later principal administrator in the OECD Environment Directorate’s program of environmental performance reviews of member and non-member countries, leading multinational teams of experts in evaluating how countries measured up to their own environmental commitments as defined in domestic legislation and international agreements.
At Air Liquide she led the group’s worldwide R&D activities at its eight main centers in Europe, North America and Asia, and administered an innovation budget of over €230 million a year in areas including energy efficiency
and industrial process optimization; renewable energy
forms such as solar photovoltaics technology, biofuel
and hydrogen fuel
; and carbon capture and storage
. A frequent public speaker in France, the United States and Germany, she also contributes in several countries to work on strategy to improve public-private cooperation for R&D. She is active in international women’s networks and, in a country where a 2010 survey of major companies showed that women made up only 37% of the workforce and no women were CEOs, is one of relatively few women executives (and only a handful of Americans) at her level.
Heitzmann serves on the boards of two corporations (SEPPIC Chemicals and Air Liquide Santé France, the group’s medical gases and chemicals producers), a number of scientific organizations, including the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France’s premier public research agency), and several other for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Crawford, M., Holthus, P. et al. (1992) Vulnerability Assessment to Accelerated Sea Level Rise: Case Study of Majuro Atoll. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and South Pacific Regional Environment Program.
Crawford, M. J. (1992) Republic of the Marshall Islands National Environmental Management Strategy, Parts A & B. Developed with RMI National Taskforce on Environmental Management and Sustainable Development. Asian Development Bank.
Crawford, M. (1993) Sustainable Development in the Pacific Island Nations. Environmental Science and Technology 27(12): 2286-2290.
Crawford, M. and Wilson, R. (1996) Low-Dose Linearity: The Rule of the Exception? Human and Ecological Risk Assessment International 2(2): 305-330.
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
, the French state-owned nuclear power conglomerate. One of a very few Americans in the upper ranks of French business, she has a professional background in environmental policy and engineering. A dual national (US and French) based in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, she joined Areva in March 2011 after three years as vice president for group research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
at Air Liquide
Air Liquide
L'Air Liquide S.A., or Air Liquide , is a major French company supplying industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, it is first in the world market in its field, now operating in over 80 countries. It is...
, one of the top 40 private-sector companies in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. There she was responsible for setting strategic direction and leading Air Liquide’s R&D activities worldwide.
Born Martha Crawford in Tucson, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, she grew up on a ranch north of Tucson and attended University High School
University High School (Tucson)
University High School is an accelerated public high school located in Tucson, Arizona, originally known as Special Projects High School , University High School is in the Tucson Unified School District...
, a public school for the academically gifted and talented. She studied ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson on an Arizona Board of Regents
Arizona Board of Regents
The Arizona Board of Regents is the governing body of Arizona's public university system, providing policy guidance to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona and their branch campuses.-Organization:...
academic scholarship and a fellowship from the E. Blois du Bois Foundation of Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. After graduating in 1989 she worked as an environmental policy intern in the office of Senator Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, then as adviser to the head of the Environmental Protection Authority in the republic of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
in Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
. She returned to the United States in 1992 to pursue her master’s degree and PhD in environmental engineering at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(with master’s coursework and PhD supervision in chemical engineering based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
). She was awarded the PhD in 1996, shortly after marrying Pierre Heitzmann, a Frenchman studying law in the United States. They moved in 1997 to Paris, where Martha received her Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
degree from the Collège des Ingénieurs
Collège des Ingénieurs
Collège des Ingénieurs is a French educational institution and business school based in Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris, and operating in France, Germany and Italy...
.
She was named vice president of research and development for Air Liquide in 2007 after holding positions at Suez S.A. and, from 1999, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
, where she was an analyst and later principal administrator in the OECD Environment Directorate’s program of environmental performance reviews of member and non-member countries, leading multinational teams of experts in evaluating how countries measured up to their own environmental commitments as defined in domestic legislation and international agreements.
At Air Liquide she led the group’s worldwide R&D activities at its eight main centers in Europe, North America and Asia, and administered an innovation budget of over €230 million a year in areas including energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and industrial process optimization; renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
forms such as solar photovoltaics technology, biofuel
Biofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
and hydrogen fuel
Hydrogen fuel
An ecologically-friendly fuel which uses electrochemical cells or combusts in internal engines to power vehicles and electric devices. It is also used in the propulsion of spacecraft and can potentially be mass produced and commercialized for passenger vehicles and aircraft.In a flame of pure...
; and carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage , alternatively referred to as carbon capture and sequestration, is a technology to prevent large quantities of from being released into the atmosphere from the use of fossil fuel in power generation and other industries. It is often regarded as a means of mitigating...
. A frequent public speaker in France, the United States and Germany, she also contributes in several countries to work on strategy to improve public-private cooperation for R&D. She is active in international women’s networks and, in a country where a 2010 survey of major companies showed that women made up only 37% of the workforce and no women were CEOs, is one of relatively few women executives (and only a handful of Americans) at her level.
Heitzmann serves on the boards of two corporations (SEPPIC Chemicals and Air Liquide Santé France, the group’s medical gases and chemicals producers), a number of scientific organizations, including the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France’s premier public research agency), and several other for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Selected works
In addition to being lead author on 16 country volumes in the OECD Environmental Performance Review series, Heitzmann has written or co-written, among other publications:Crawford, M., Holthus, P. et al. (1992) Vulnerability Assessment to Accelerated Sea Level Rise: Case Study of Majuro Atoll. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and South Pacific Regional Environment Program.
Crawford, M. J. (1992) Republic of the Marshall Islands National Environmental Management Strategy, Parts A & B. Developed with RMI National Taskforce on Environmental Management and Sustainable Development. Asian Development Bank.
Crawford, M. (1993) Sustainable Development in the Pacific Island Nations. Environmental Science and Technology 27(12): 2286-2290.
Crawford, M. and Wilson, R. (1996) Low-Dose Linearity: The Rule of the Exception? Human and Ecological Risk Assessment International 2(2): 305-330.