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Daniel Tauritz, associate professor of computer science and software engineering, and interim director/chief cyber artificial intelligence strategist of the Auburn Cyber Research Center since 2020, has been appointed as the university’s director for national laboratory relationships. Tauritz’s appointment to the newly created position went into effect Jan. 1, 2023.
The U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, operates most U.S. national laboratories, including the National Nuclear Security Administration laboratories and Office of Science laboratories, one of the largest scientific research systems in the world. As director, Tauritz will serve as the primary point of contact with the DOE complex, focusing on growing long-term, sustained relationships through personal outreach and facilitating engagement and collaborative opportunities for faculty and students.
“My vision for this position is to strategically build comprehensive, university-wide relationships with select national laboratories, from collaborative research to educational partnerships and student hiring pipelines,” Tauritz said. “I’m going to work hard to bring Auburn University’s relationships with DOE complex to the next level.”
Tauritz will initially focus on Los Alamos National Laboratory ,or LANL, with whom the university signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2022, Sandia National Laboratories,SNL, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“Dr. Tauritz’s experience with the DOE complex makes him the ideal candidate for this position,” said Steve Taylor, interim dean of engineering. “Our relationships with our country’s national laboratories are vitally important to our mission to engage our faculty and students in meaningful research that helps keep our country safe, drives our economy and improves the quality of life for all.”
Tauritz, who has more than 14 years of academic leadership experience, has been working with the DOE complex since 2004, with more than $4 million in research contract awards from LANL, SNL and the Kansas City National Security Campus, and a strong track record of placing students in internship and full-time positions at LANL and SNL.
“With his many years of experience, Dr. Tauritz is a great choice to serve as Auburn’s director for national laboratory relationships,” said James Weyhenmeyer, Auburn University’s vice president for research and economic development. “His work in this role will help grow the university’s portfolio of collaborative research with the national labs.”
Tauritz noted that as an R1 institution Auburn University is always seeking means to increase its extramurally funded research portfolio.
“The DOE complex and its associated budget is growing fast, and Auburn University is well-positioned to help the DOE meet its research and development workforce needs,” he said. “It is very timely to create the DNLR position and I am very honored that the college put its trust in me to fill it. After spending many years working to build relationships between academia and national labs as a passion project, it is immensely gratifying to receive this kind of recognition and support from the college and university, and I’m excited to take on this new role.”
