Davis Hanson, Ph.D.

Dr. Hanson received his PhD in 1999, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spent 2.5 years as a post-doctoral fellow at the Australian National University. He joined the faculty at the University of New Mexico in 2002, where his research focuses on physiological, ecological, and energy-related aspects of photosynthesis in plants and algae, particularly elements of the carbon reactions and water relations.

Dr. Hanson has over 50 peer-reviewed publications, and active funding from seven research grants and contracts totaling ~$14 million: two from the National Science Foundation, one from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (that produced a patent and his start-up, Growvera, Inc), two from the Department of Energy, and two from NASA for research on the International Space Station. He currently supervises research projects that span biology, engineering, and physics, working with many forms of life from microorganisms to trees, and several of these projects are collaborations with Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Lab. His new role in the Office of the Vice President for research will focus on industry relations, economic development, and IP/tech transfer.