Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, PhD
Tomás Díaz de la Rubia is a science and technology leader, strategist, and administrator with extensive experience in national laboratories, academia, and the private sector. He has served as the Deputy Director for Science and Technology and Chief Research and Development Officer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a U.S. national security Federally Funded Research and Development Center focused on ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrent. He was a Director in the Strategy and Operations Energy practice at Deloitte Consulting, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Purdue University, and Vice President of Research and Partnerships at the University of Oklahoma. At present, he’s the Senior Vice President for Research and Partnerships at the University of Arizona, an Association of American Universities member and Carnegie R1 institution executing over $1B in annual research expenditures across many areas critical to Arizona’s and the nation’s economic prosperity and national security. Tomas is a full professor of materials science in the college of engineering at the University of Arizona (U of A).
In his current role, Tomás is leading efforts to position the U of A as a national and global leader at the intersection to space and national security, AI and the future of health, sustainable mining and critical minerals, and the future of fusion energy and energy abundance for the planet. He is leading the development of a new strategic framework and plan for research across these vectors that will propel the university forward, while building on its strengths in space science, optical science and quantum systems, agriculture and the life sciences, biomedical research, environmental research and water, and the social sciences, humanities and fine arts. In parallel, he is focused on increasing the U of A’s impact on the local community and society overall through partnerships with the private sector, and the translation and commercialization of university discoveries and inventions into high value startup companies and technology licenses that create job and prosperity.
Tomás is a parent member of the Defense Science Board (DSB), which advises the Office of the Secretary of Defense on Science and Technology relevant to the security of the nation. He co-chaired the DSB’s study on Climate Change and Global Security, is a member of the permanent task force on nuclear surety and is currently involved in conducting a study on Advanced Technologies for Potential Future Conflict and Homeland Defense. He also served six years as a member of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Intelligence Community Studies Board at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
Tomás is a board member of the Southern Arizona Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, currently chairs the Board of Directors of CRFD Global, a non-profit headquartered in Arlington, VA, with main offices in Kyiv, Manila, and Amman, Jordan, that contracts with the U.S. State Department and other government agencies to provide security assistance to U.S. allies around the world. He is a past member of the board of the National Defense Industry Association and serves on the board of advisors of several startup companies in Silicon Valley and New York.
According to Google Scholar, Tomás' publications h-index is 62, and he is listed as one of the top 2% of most cited scientists in the world in the 2023 Stanford/Elsevier ranking. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.