Walter G. Copan

Manager, Office of Technology Commercialization and Partnerships

Office of Technology Commercialization and Partnerships brings together a diverse array of skills in science, business, marketing, and law to foster intellectual property creation, licensing, business development, collaborations, and new company start-ups built around BNL innovations. The office works closely with other sectors of the Laboratory to achieve results, communicating the market potential of Brookhaven Lab’s inventions, cultivating important business relationships for the Lab, and supporting economic development for the region and the nation.

The Office of Technology Commercialization and Partnerships encourages exchanges of personnel among the Laboratory, industry, and academia, as well as cooperative research efforts with a wide range of partners. Also, industry, university, and government laboratories are invited to use Brookhaven’s premier scientific facilities. The office’s active patent licensing program makes Brookhaven-developed technology available for commercialization.

Biographical Information

After earning dual B.S./B.A. degrees in chemistry and music from Case Western University, Walter Copan started his career in chemicals and materials research at Lubrizol Corporation in 1975. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Case Western in 1982, while on academic leave from Lubrizol. Copan then rejoined the company, subsequently holding management positions in research and development, strategy, new ventures, and business unit leadership in the U.S. and in the international arena, including managing director, technology transfer and licensing, from 1999-2003. In 2003, he joined DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory as principal licensing executive, technology transfer.

In 2005, Copan moved to Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc., where he was executive vice president and chief technology officer, spearheading the company’s transformation from its research focus to a successful commercial enterprise and subsequent listing on NASDAQ. In 2009, he became managing director at EnergyInsight, a consultancy providing technology commercialization services to the energy and cleantech sectors, and held that position until he came to Brookhaven.

• Office of Technology Commercialization and Partnerships Homepage

Last Modified: June 17, 2010

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

Privacy and Security Notice  | Contact Web Services for help