The office promotes the commercialization of technology derived from ORNL research through the licensing of intellectual property (patents, copyrights, etc.) and the negotiation of cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) with private industry.
Waters has been acting director of the office, and was previously program director for Defense Programs, director of the Applied Technology Division and director of the Gas Centrifuge Division. As a researcher in the Gas Centrifuge Program, Waters developed numerous patents, including one, as a co-patenter, for the large-scale continuous flow biological centrifuge currently used to purify a wide range of vaccines worldwide. Waters was awarded the E.O. Lawrence Award by DOE for his research and development contributions.
He earned bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and industrial administration from Yale University and a master's degree in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University.
Waters resides in Oak Ridge with his wife, Jacquelyn. They have two children - Geoffry D. Waters of Dallas, and Heather W. Turner of Knoxville. ORNL is a DOE multiprogram research facility and is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.
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