White House Taps University of Rochester's Duncan Moore for National Post

Michael D. Wheeler

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- President Clinton has nominated the University of Rochester's Duncan T. Moore for the White House post of associate director for technology. Moore, who has helped chart the course for the optics and photonics industry in private and public positions, will assume a direct role in shaping national policy for technology issues. The confirmation process is expected to last several months.

Duncan T. Moore

If confirmed, Moore will work closely with Jack Gibbons, the president's science adviser, in drafting key legislation.
This is not the first time that Moore has been in the national spotlight. He served from 1993-94 as a science and technology adviser to US Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. At the time, Rockefeller was chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Science, helping to draft legislation. "By good luck I was working on the issues of technology and competitiveness, which will be important in my new job," said Moore.
Also in 1993, the American Physical Society named Moore a congressional science fellow, serving as a science and technology adviser to Congress. In 1996, he was president of the 12,000-member Optical Society of America, where he focused on members' involvement in shaping public policy.
Moore started his own business in 1980, Gradient Lens Corp., a producer of borescopes and endoscopes, which use gradient-index lenses. He remains president of the company, which has 16 employees, but has relinquished a hands-on role in its daily operations.
Moore helped initiate the launch of the university's Center for Optics Manufacturing in 1989. For six years, he headed the university's New York State Center for Advanced Optical Technology.

Moore's nomination will go before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and then the full Senate. Upon approval, he will work with both Gibbons and Vice President Albert Gore Jr. in shaping the country's public policy for technology issues.
He intends to resign from his position as dean of the University of Rochester's School of Engineering and Applied Science. He will retain his position as the Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake professor of optical engineering. G