Friday, July 25, 2025
Carol Burns
Deputy Director for Research & Chief Research Officer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Ph.D., Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
B.A., Chemistry, Rice University
Carol Burns is responsible for the development, implementation, and stewardship of Berkeley Lab’s research enterprise, and serves as the Lab’s chief research liaison with the DOE Office of Science, the University of California, the other national labs, and other key partners. She joined Berkeley Lab in August 2021.
Burns brings more than 25 years of scientific leadership experience in a national laboratory setting, most recently serving as executive officer to the Deputy Director for Science, Technology, and Engineering at Los Alamos National Laboratory, assisting in oversight of line and DOE program organizations and coordinating the integration of science and technology strategy as well as associated investments and stewardship mechanisms.
She is a recognized expert in f-element and radiochemistry with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and invited book chapters. She has served on a number of editorial boards, review boards, and advisory panels. She pioneered the development of an entirely new class of high-valent uranium compounds containing metal-ligand multiple bonds, contributing substantially to the understanding of the electronic structure of the early actinides. She is the recipient of a number of awards for scientific achievement and leadership, most recently the American Chemical Society’s Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal, recognizing distinguished service in chemistry by women chemists. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Burns has extensive experience in the systems enabling the research enterprise in the U.S. national laboratories, including a deep commitment to workforce development and diversity in STEM. She has experience in science policy at the national level, having served as a senior policy analyst in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Burns received her B.A. in chemistry from Rice University and her Ph.D. in chemistry as a Hertz Foundation Fellow at UC Berkeley.