Robert H. Carlson

Dr. Rob Carlson is the Managing Director of Bioeconomy Capital, an early stage investment firm, and a Principal at Biodesic, an engineering, consulting, and design firm in Seattle. At the broadest level, Rob is interested in the future role of biology as a human technology. He has worked to develop new biological technologies in both academic and commercial environments, focusing on molecular measurement and microfluidic systems. Carlson is the author of the book Biology is Technology: The Promise, Peril, and New Business of Engineering Life, published in 2010 by Harvard University Press. Rob earned a doctorate in Physics from Princeton University in 1997.

From 2002 to 2007, Dr. Carlson was a Senior Scientist in the Electrical Engineeering department at the University of Washington. From 2003 to 2008, he provided technology analysis and strategic consulting as a Senior Associate at Bio-Economic Research Associates (Bio-era), writing extensively on pandemic preparedness, synthetic vaccines, biofuels, and biological technologies, and presenting briefings on these subjects to executives and government officials around the world. From 1997 to 2002 he was a Research Fellow at The Molecular Sciences Institute in Berkeley, CA.

Links to additional articles and a weblog can be found at http://www.synthesis.cc .