In just two years, Gentle achieved remarkable results, spearheading impactful partnerships and showcasing inventive thinking that created new opportunities for Argonne and its partners.

Trained as a materials chemist, Cecilia Gentle took a leap of faith in 2021. Her passion began pulling her away from research and toward technology transfer. When she saw a technology transfer opportunity open at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, she jumped at the opportunity. Since then, Gentle has distinguished herself as a high-impact technology transfer professional within Argonne’s Science and Technology Partnerships and Outreach (S&TPO) directorate. She serves Argonne’s Applied Materials Division (AMD), which is one of the most demanding divisions at Argonne due to its large number of subgroups and principal investigators, the wide diversity of technologies with which the group works and the volume of intellectual property it produces – one third of the total inventions disclosed at Argonne. 

Gentle manages project complexity by working proactively and with great attention to detail: When supporting the development of sponsored research engagements, Gentle looks for potential stumbling blocks to an eventual deal and tackles these proactively by reaching out to her partner-side counterparts with the goal of facilitating a resolution prior to term negotiations.  

Within Argonne, Gentle has built invaluable relationships by opting for in-person meetings instead of virtual meetings whenever possible and dedicating one day each week to spending more time interacting directly with AMD researchers and leadership. Outside Argonne, she has made numerous site visits to existing and potential industry partners to build stronger relationships and gain a better understanding of partners’ perspectives and needs.  

Gentle employs creative thinking and innovative marketing solutions that create new opportunities for Argonne and its partners. In a signature achievement, Gentle conceived, organized and promoted a technology showcase event – in the style of an industry tradeshow – for potential industry partners in collaboration with DOE’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the University of Chicago, featuring IP from the three research institutions related to technologies in relevant areas. As part of this showcase, Gentle assisted 10 principal investigators in recording short, punchy promotional pitches for their technologies that can be used long after the event. 

In Fiscal Year 2023, Gentle executed around 30 non-disclosure agreements in support of AMD researchers and their partnership activities, and she shepherded six Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and nine Strategic Partnership Projects (total value: $5.6M). Despite her scant two years in federal technology transfer, she evaluated 65 invention disclosures, accounting for 30 percent of the total inventions reported across the entire lab by the end of 2023. She also shepherded 43 sponsored and collaborative research partnerships totaling more than $14.5M in agreement value through Argonne’s pipeline. 

Of all these metrics, the most impressive might be the number of Impact Argonne Awards she garnered in 2023: two. The award is among the highest honors an Argonne employee can earn. In both instances, Gentle was recognized for her engagement in projects focused on building and streamlining internal technology transfer activities and processes.