Duncan McBranch, the Chief Technology Officer for Los Alamos National Laboratory, will speak about startup companies working with the laboratory.

He brings to this role a strong track record as an R&D leader in materials chemistry and nanotechnology, an entrepreneur in biotechnology, a business development leader in growing new partnerships and programs, and as a senior leader managing a large and diverse technical R&D enterprise. In this role he oversees the institutional strategy for driving innovation across the Laboratory’s national security programs, and growing partnerships to enhance our delivery from ideas to solutions. Duncan was the Deputy Principal Associate Director for Science Technology and Engineering from 2007-2013. In this role, he oversaw the DOE energy and science R&D programs and enabling support services such as Laboratory-directed Research and Development, student and postdoctoral programs, the research library, educational institutes, and technology transfer.

Previously, Duncan was the Division Leader for Technology Transfer, where he was responsible for collaborations with industry, for the commercialization of inventions, and for the spin-out of regional technology businesses. Duncan has diverse experience leading teams solving complex research, technology, and business problems. This includes founding a biotechnology company (QTL Biosystems), to develop rapid assays for the life sciences markets and handheld detection solutions for environmental pathogen detection.

Duncan began his technical career at Los Alamos as a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow. Duncan has published more than 70 articles in technical journals in optics, materials, chemistry, and biotechnology, and is an inventor with more than 20 patents and patent applications. Duncan earned undergraduate degrees in physics and mathematics (Whitman College) and a Ph.D. in condensed-matter physics (University of California, Santa Barbara).

LANL's Duncan McBranch: Startup Companies Working with the Laboratory