Newswise — Suresh Sunderrajan has been named the associate laboratory director (ALD) for the Science and Technology Partnerships and Outreach (STPO) Directorate at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. Sunderrajan has served in the role on an interim basis since February 2017.
As part of Argonne’s senior management team, Sunderrajan will oversee efforts encompassing business development and licensing, sponsored research, communications, government relations, innovation and outreach. STPO works with the Lab’s research directorates, centers, institutes and priority initiatives to maximize outcomes through coordinated communications, partnership and outreach efforts.
In his new role, Sunderrajan also will support the partnership between Argonne and the University of Chicago in a range of areas, including molecular engineering via the Institute for Molecular Engineering and innovation with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship.
“As the laboratory seeks to increase its strategic partnerships with industrial, academic and other partners, I am confident that Suresh’s visionary and experienced leadership will help Argonne increase its impact and competiveness,” said Interim Laboratory Director Paul Kearns.
Sunderrajan came to Argonne in 2015 as the Director of Technology Development and Commercialization from United Technologies Corporation, where he served as Director of Innovation Business Development. He was responsible for patent and technology licensing, patent sales and new business incubation opportunities and was part of the team that built this fledgling organization from concept through over $100 million in committed contract value in three years.
A serial entrepreneur, Sunderrajan served as part of the founding teams for four different start-ups related to advanced materials and LED lighting. Sunderrajan also worked at the International Copper Association and Eastman Kodak Company, where he led commercialization, business development and corporate venture capital efforts. He worked at Union Camp Corporation (International Paper) as a Senior Process Engineer and led the first alkaline conversion of a coated board machine in the United States.
Sunderrajan holds more than 30 U.S. patents, received the Distinguished Inventor Award at Eastman Kodak and is a Certified Licensing Professional. Sunderrajan earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, and an S.M. in Management and Engineering from MIT.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the Office of Science website.
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