Carol Burns is Deputy Laboratory Director for Research and Chief Research Officer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science lab managed by University of California. She 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 Office of Science, the University, the other national labs, and other key partners.

Burns has served in leadership roles within the national laboratory system for more than 25 years, managing the execution of technical and research programs. She has deep experience leading the development and implementation of science and technology strategies, and has stewarded the development of external partnerships and programs for workforce development.

Burns is a recognized expert in f-element and radiochemistry with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and invited book chapters, and has served on a number of editorial boards, review boards, and advisory panels. 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.

She has extensive experience in the systems enabling the research enterprise in the 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 (OSTP).

Burns received her B.A. in Chemistry from Rice University, and her Ph,D, in Chemistry as a Hertz Foundation Fellow at the University of California at Berkeley.