William B. Bonvillian has been director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Washington, DC Office since January 2006.

Prior to that position, he served for 17 years as legislative director and chief counsel to US Senator Joseph Lieberman. He has also taught in the area of science, technology, and innovation policy.At MIT, he works to support MIT's strong and historic relations with federal R&D agencies, and its role in national science policy. He has lectured and given speeches before numerous audiences on science and technology issues, and has taught previously at Georgetown University, MIT, and George Washington University.

Bonvillian received a B.A. from Columbia University with honors, an M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School in religion, and holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

• Will the search for new energy technologies require a new R&D mission agency? - The ARPA-E-Debate (July 12, 2007)