Eli Dourado is a senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University. His work focuses on identifying and eliminating the barriers to the hard technology innovations needed to drive large increases in economic growth. He has worked on a wide range of technology policy issues, including aviation, space, geothermal energy, and cryptocurrency. His popular writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy, among other outlets. Prior to joining the CGO, Eli was the first policy hire at a supersonic aviation startup. Before that, he was a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and director of its technology policy program. He received a PhD in economics from George Mason University and a BA in economics and political science from Furman University.