Amy Rydeen is an Innovation Analyst at RTI who works with organizations seeking improved global sustainability and health outcomes. She specializes in deriving technology, market and user insights that advance innovation outcomes in not-for-profit, corporate, and government organizations. A chemist by training, Dr. Rydeen is skilled at distilling complex information into fundamental principles and organizational frameworks that maximize impact by building shared understanding.
Dr. Rydeen’s work is driven by her desire to position science as a force for global good. She believes that technology and the systems that support it should take inspiration from and find harmony with the natural world. This passion motivates her work with food and ingredient manufacturers to support the adoption of natural preservatives, pigments, sweeteners and functional ingredients. With deep knowledge and first-hand experience in fermentation and protein engineering, Dr. Rydeen is sought-after for her assessments of the feasibility and viability of the alternative protein landscape. Towards advancing health outcomes, she has supported the U.S. Army in the identification of critical R&D investment needs to advance field deployable, life-extending technologies. She has educated numerous clients on the health implications of complex and dynamic topics such as the microbiome and has conducted a rigorous scientific evaluation of the health effects of emerging functional ingredients including cannabinoids. Lastly, Dr. Rydeen has led a multi-year user needs and valuation study that informed the satellite architecture of a future NASA mission that will serve as the premier instrument for addressing the threat of climate change.
Prior to joining the Innovation Advisors at RTI, Dr. Rydeen spent time in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards at the US Environmental Protection Agency, worked as a discovery chemist at a major Agriculture Chemical Company, and volunteered at the North Carolina Morehead Planetarium to advance women representation in STEM disciplines.
