Walter Copan , vice president for research and technology transfer at Colorado School of Mines, has announced his intention to step down at the end of next month after nearly five years.
Copan will take on an emeritus advisory role at the end of February, allowing him to focus on his family.
He will continue his engagement with the national security think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, which he joined in January 2021 and where he developed a new programme for innovation and IP policy.
He will also maintain his engagements with other organisations, including the Bayh-Dole Coalition, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Physical Society.
“Over these past years, we have seen substantial research growth and the public policy influence of Mines come to the fore, recognising the unique interdisciplinary strengths and industry-relevant expertise of this global research powerhouse.
“I look forward to staying involved with the university, and supporting the transition to new research and innovation leadership.”
Walter Copan
Copan joined the Colorado School of Mines in July 2021. He previously served as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology in the US Department of Commerce from October 2017 to January 2021.
During that same period, he was also the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Copan has spent the majority of his career in IP-related roles, having spent the first half of it as the managing director of technology transfer and licensing of speciality chemicals producer Lubrizol from 1975 until 2003.
His subsequent roles have included commercialisation positions with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Brookhaven National Laboratory.
