Walter G. Copan

Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and 

NIST Director 

Dr. Walter G. Copan was confirmed by Congress as Under Secretary of 

Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director on October 5, 

2017.

As NIST Director, Dr. Copan provides high-level oversight and direction for 

NIST.

He has had a distinguished and diverse career as a science and technology 

executive in large and small corporations, U.S. government, nonprofit and other public-sector settings.

Dr. Copan formerly served as president and CEO of the IP Engineering Group Corporation, providing 

services in intellectual property strategy, technology commercialization and innovation. Until June 2017, 

he was founding CEO and chairman of Impact Engineered Wood Corporation, an advanced materials 

technology company. He also is a founding board member of Rocky Mountain Innovation Partners, 

where he led technology transfer programs and innovation services on behalf of the U.S. Air Force 

Academy, U.S. federal labs and academic institutions and helped foster entrepreneurial businesses in 

the Rocky Mountain West. He also served with the National Advisory Council to the Federal Laboratory 

Consortium for more than 5 years, providing industry inputs to advance the U.S. economic impacts of 

the federal laboratory system.

From 2010–2013, Dr. Copan served as managing director of Technology Commercialization and 

Partnerships at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). Among his accomplishments were leading 

the creation and implementation of the new DOE technology transfer mechanism, “Agreement for 

Commercializing Technology” (ACT), to facilitate collaborations between the federal labs and U.S. 

corporations. He led the “Startup America” initiative on behalf of DOE for entrepreneurial business 

creation, and he initiated the DOE’s new Small Business Innovation Research – Technology Transfer 

(SBIR-TT) program, which built upon the experiences of NIST. He served as founding partner and board 

member of the “Accelerate Long Island” alliance for innovation, economic development and early stage 

investment.

From 2005–2010, Dr. Copan was executive vice president and chief technology officer at Clean Diesel 

Technologies, Inc., an international technology development and licensing firm. He spearheaded the 

company’s transformation, growth and listing on NASDAQ (CDTI), as well as the company’s subsequent 

merger. Prior to joining CDTI, Dr. Copan served at the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

(NREL) as Principal Licensing Executive, Technology Transfer. There, he led organizational changes that 

strengthened relationships with industry and the investment community, and led to the more 

productive commercialization of energy-related technologies.

After earning dual B.S./B.A. degrees in chemistry and music from Case Western Reserve University in 

1975, Dr. Copan began his career in chemicals and materials research at the Lubrizol Corporation (now 

part of the Berkshire Hathaway Group). He earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Case Western in 

1982, and subsequently held leadership positions at Lubrizol in research and development, strategy, 

business unit management, venture capital, and mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances in the U.S. 
and abroad. As managing director, Technology Transfer and Licensing, from 1999–2003, he was 

responsible for Lubrizol’s corporate venturing and open innovation, technology strategy, business 

development, intellectual assets and the technology licensing business.

Dr. Copan is a patent holder, has authored numerous professional publications and presentations, and 

has served on the boards of many organizations, including the Licensing Executives Society (LES) USA 

and Canada, where he recently served as regional vice president for LES USA. He has contributed to the 

U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Council on Competitiveness, the World Intellectual Property 

Organization and the United Nations on innovation, technology transfer, energy and economic 

development matters.

Education

• B.S./B.A. degrees in chemistry and music from Case Western Reserve University, 1975

• Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Case Western Reserve University, 1982

Created November 08, 2017, Updated January 17, 2018