An NETL specialist whose work significantly reduced the complexity of transferring the Lab’s technologies to the private sector and increased the number of agreements executed by 27% is being recognized as the “Rookie of the Year” by a prestigious national organization of more than 300 federal laboratories, agencies and research centers dedicated to increasing the impact of technology transfer for the benefit of the U.S. economy, society and national security.

Chris Bond, a technology transfer agreement specialist with Leidos, a support contractor to NETL, will receive the honor from the Federal Laboratory Consortium at an awards ceremony set for Wednesday, March 29 at the FLC national Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.

According to NETL officials, “Bond quickly established himself as an innovator, communicator, educator, and issue resolver whose skills, ingenuity and critical thinking eliminated technology transfer barriers, corrected process inefficiencies, created new streamlined procedures, and helped elevate and expedite the technology transfer process, moving new innovations to market that help meet the nation’s energy needs and accelerate initiatives for attaining the goal of net-zero carbon emissions.”

Many of Bond’s technology transfer-related achievements were noted by NETL including:

• From October 2019 through August 2022, Bond shepherded 52 agreements and amendments to execution with expected total research expenditures of $22.6 million dollars.
• From the 12-month period prior to implementing Bond’s retooled agreements process, compared to the 12-months following its rollout, total tech transfer agreements executed by NETL increased by 27% and the value of associated “funds-in” to NETL/DOE increased from $790 thousand to $5.6 million.
• Bond’s streamlining of the Lab’s agreement package reduced 36 administrative pages to five pages, an 86% reduction in paperwork.
• His process revisions cut 31 steps to 12.

NETL provides discoveries that support energy initiatives, stimulate the economy, and improve the health, safety, and security of all Americans. Bond played a crucial role in helping NETL to pursue its mission by improving and simplifying the Lab’s array of technology transfer tools that bring energy innovations to market and draw the nation closer to the goal of net-zero carbon emissions. 

“By incorporating his personal interest in databases and programming with his experience in higher education technology Bond helped overhaul NETL’s set of technology transfer tools,” NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., said. “The results elevated the commercialization performance of the Laboratory and improved the experiences of its researchers and administrators. The Lab, its innovators, private industries, and incalculable numbers of energy-using Americans in the marketplace are benefactors of his work.”

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By using its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant, and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.