Random Walk
Another Alum Goes to Washington
The brain drain from Pasadena to Foggy Bottom continues. Karina Edmonds, MS ’93, PhD ’98, director of JPL technology transfer, joined the Department of Energy as its first technology transfer coordinator on April 12. She will work with the DOE’s national laboratories to help accelerate the process of moving discoveries from the laboratory to the private sector.
Edmonds, an engineer by training, has held key technology-transfer positions at Caltech and JPL for over a decade. As director of JPL technology transfer, she was responsible for technology licensing, managing the JPL patent portfolio, and assisting Caltech/JPL start-up companies.
This is the first time the DOE has appointed a full-time person to fill the role, which was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. “I am pleased to have Karina join our team,” says Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who was also Caltech’s commencement speaker last year. “Having Karina oversee a coordinated, strategic effort on behalf of the department will help increase the rate of successful technology transfers, creating clean-energy jobs and providing more solutions to our energy challenges.” —AB
