(FORTUNE Small Business) – Arati Prabhakar

COMPANY U.S. Venture Partners CONTACT usvp.com TITLE Partner AGE 43 GOAL Funding faster, cheaper chips

Bona fides A former program manager at the government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and head of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Now she helps manage a $1 billion fund in Menlo Park, Calif.

Proteges Fostered tech breakthroughs at semiconductor makers Vitesse and TriQuint.

Research approach To find the next really big thing in nanoelectronics, semiconductors, and optoelectronics, you gotta know the researchers. So she keeps tabs on professors, students, and projects at top research universities around the country.

Turn-ons Since most technology has to strike a balance among cost, speed, and performance, "my pulse rate goes up when I see a way to blow through those tradeoffs."

Factoids She was the only Indian kid in her Lubbock, Texas, high school, so she's used to standing out. Her Texas accent gets teased out after half a margarita.