Dr. Christine A. Gulbranson provides leadership in Advancing Innovation for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, to support the development of commercial innovation at the university level. Dr. Gulbranson’s work emphasizes traditional and non-traditional technology transfer activities conducted in collaboration with existing entrepreneurial networks, angel organizations and professional organizations. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Gulbranson was founder and CEO of Christalis LLC, a high-tech consulting firm specializing in nanotechnology implementation and business strategies. Previously, she founded two nanotechnology companies with applications in multiple markets. She was a partner at Global Catalyst Partners, a Bay Area venture capital firm that specializes in seed and early-stage investments in information technology. She was a Specialist in the Industrial Partnership and Commercialization Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Previously, she served as director of research collaborations for the University of California, Office of the President.

Dr. Gulbranson has received many accolades for her work, most notably as one of the “Top ‘Forty under 40’ of Business Leaders in Silicon Valley”, and as the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s Young Alumna of the Year in 2002. In 1999, she was named one of the “Top 100 Young Innovators in the World” by MIT’s Technology Review magazine. She holds a US patent in the field of nanotechnology with more patents pending.

By the age of 25, Dr. Gulbranson earned dual bachelor degrees in physics and materials science and engineering, an MBA, and a masters and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, all from the University of California, Davis.