Dr. Elisa Alonso is Assistant Chief for the Minerals Intelligence Research Section at the U.S. Geological Survey. She joined USGS in 2020 and her work focuses on supply chain analysis and evaluating resource availability for critical materials such as the rare earth elements. Prior to joining the USGS, Dr. Alonso was a strategic materials analyst supporting the Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials (the National Defense Stockpile manager) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. While supporting DLA-Strategic Materials, she collaborated with USGS and various other government agencies to assess over 200 specialty and commodity materials for potential shortfalls in a national emergency planning scenario. Dr. Alonso graduated from McGill University with Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering and obtained a doctorate degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.