Leadership Team
Shaun Gleason
Director, Partnerships
Shaun Gleason is the Partnerships Director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), bringing over 34 years of leadership in science and technology. He has held key roles across multiple ORNL directorates, including R&D Division Director, Interim Associate Laboratory Director, and Director of Science-Security Initiative Integration. With deep expertise in innovation, technology transfer, and strategic planning, Shaun has led initiatives in AI, quantum, and cyber resilience. He earned the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a research focus on x-ray computed tomography and 2D and 3D model-based medical image segmentation. Shaun co-founded ImTek, Inc., successfully commercializing ORNL technology, and has authored 120 publications and 10 patents. A Fellow of AAAS and Senior Member of IEEE, he continues to drive impactful collaborations across academia, industry, and government.
Jennifer Caldwell
Director, Technology Transfer
Jennifer Caldwell is Director of Technology Transfer. Previously, Caldwell led the Technology Commercialization Group in the Partnerships Office at ORNL, which is operated and managed by UT-Battelle, LLC. She manages the Technology Commercialization Group which is responsible for intellectual property portfolio management, licensing, and technology transfer. Prior to joining ORNL in 2006, Caldwell commercialized technology at Research Corporation Technology, Inc. (RCT) located in Tucson, Arizona. RCT is a technology management company that licenses technology and invests in promising early-stage biomedical companies and innovations. She managed and licensed a technology portfolio concentrating in life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Caldwell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Florida State University in 1994 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry (with emphasis in Biochemistry) from the University of Florida in 2000. Before pursuing a PhD, she was employed by EG&G Florida, Inc. at Kennedy Space Center as an Environmental Health Specialist.
Dan Miller
Program Director
Dan Miller serves as the Program Director for Innovation Crossroads, where he coordinates the review and selection process for new cohorts, leads efforts to help innovators develop and execute Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with ORNL, and leads effort to connect innovators with potential customers and investors throughout the region. Prior to Innovation Crossroads, Dan started and led several public-private partnerships focused on commercializing ORNL technologies. Prior to ORNL, Dan was a licensing associate at Rice University and a mechanical design engineer at Wright Industries. Dan has a Master of Business Administration Degree from the University of Tennessee and worked in technology transfer at Rice University before joining ORNL in 2010.
Kelly Wampler
Program Manager
Kelly Wampler has been with the Innovation Crossroads program since its founding, previously supporting ORNL’s Industrial and Economic Development Partnerships Office. As Program Manager, she draws on her extensive knowledge of ORNL’s processes and procedures to oversee operations for Innovation Crossroads; including establishment of program policies and procedures, fellow recruitment, logistical oversight of the rigorous selection and on-boarding process, coordination of program curriculum, oversight of fellowship experience, and event coordination. Kelly takes great pride in ensuring entrepreneurial fellows receive needed mentorship and technical support to get the most out of their ORNL experience. In addition, Kelly serves as the program communications lead. She provides communication, marketing, and digital media support for internal and external initiatives. She enjoys engaging with the broader Knoxville-Oak Ridge entrepreneurial ecosystem. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Tennessee Technological University.