11/05/2026
By Amanda Vozzo

Physics Colloquium sponsored in part by the UML Submillimeter Wave Technology Laboratory

  • Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026
  • Time: 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
  • Location: Olsen Hall 503

Kannan Krishnaswami, senior commercialization manager at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will give a talk on “Innovation to Impact: The Science at National Labs and the Art of Technology Transfer.”

Abstract

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has a core mission to move innovations from the laboratory to industry, transforming scientific discoveries into real-world solutions that advance our federal sponsor’s missions in energy security, sustainable environmental management, national and homeland security. These innovations need to be appropriately protected, reduced to practice and sufficiently de-risked for industry to adopt. Technology transfer of these government-funded innovations is an art that resides at the intersection of science, business and law, necessitating the ability to comfortably traverse the space between the three disciplines. It requires demonstrating and communicating scientific innovations in the context of an unmet market need, clearly articulating their value proposition, and crafting licensing agreements that provide flexibility to our industry partners toward achieving both technical and financial milestones. The successful transfer of technologies to create products and services for commercial and government use strengthens U.S. competitiveness and simultaneously delivers impactful solutions to advance our federal sponsor’s missions.

Bio

Kannan Krishnaswami is a senior technology commercialization manager at PNNL. In this role, he stewards a portfolio of security technologies that include sensors, instruments and data analytical innovations. He is responsible for identifying and capturing intellectual property, its development and demonstration, ultimately leading to its transfer to industry for productization and implementation to enhance the security of our nation and its critical assets. Kannan joined PNNL in 2004 as a research scientist working on infrared remote sensing technologies for nuclear nonproliferation applications and subsequently transitioned to managing internal research investments directed toward security innovations. Kannan earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, Massachusetts, and his MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.