The Department of Energy's (DOE) Technology Transfer Working Group (TTWG) annually recognizes TTWG professionals at DOE national laboratories for "Best in Class" work involving licensing, intellectual property (IP) management, partnering and excellence in technology transfer supporting mission innovation commercialization.
In 2026, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO) Business Development Executive Clarence Cannon received TTWG's Best in Class award for non-federal partnering. This category recognizes excellence in contracting and strategic partnering between companies and researchers, capabilities and unique facilities.
Cannon has played a central role in advancing LLNL engagement with the commercial space sector, helping to transition innovative technologies from the Laboratory into real-world applications. Through thoughtful partnership development and a strong understanding of technology transfer, he has expanded LLNL's presence in the rapidly growing space economy.
After joining IPO in fall 2024, Cannon quickly recognized the opportunity to connect LLNL's long-standing space technology expertise with emerging commercial needs. He built strong relationships with the LLNL Space Program and positioned technology transfer as an integral part of the team - enabling partnerships that deliver meaningful impact.
Cannon also helped to develop a commercialization strategy that combines licensing with Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs). This approach has supported the transition of LLNL's monolithic optic technology - a 2025 R&D 100 award winner - from research to scalable manufacturing, while also enabling its integration into space missions. By aligning technical capabilities with industry partner needs, this strategy supports both national security and commercial applications.
His efforts have resulted in sustained partnerships with leading space companies that extend beyond individual projects to include research, manufacturing and mission deployment. He supported licensing LLNL's monolithic optic technology to Starris: Optimax Space Systems, along with a CRADA to enable scalable manufacturing. He has also established CRADAs with companies such as Virgin Galactic and Firefly Aerospace to support technology integration into space missions. Cannon's approach combines licensing with active collaboration, aligns technology readiness with mission needs and emphasizes partnerships that connect research, manufacturing and deployment.
"The best part of this work is bringing together talented people from the Lab and industry who are willing to tackle hard problems and turn promising technology into something that actually flies," Cannon said. "I'm grateful to everyone who put in the work to make these partnerships successful and honored to receive an award for having this much fun along the way."
IPO's work commercializing LLNL's monolithic telescopes also received an honorable mention from the Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) in May 2026 under the Excellence in Tech Transfer Award category, recognizing the efforts of current and former team members involved.
At least three missions have launched with monolithic telescopes in the payloads, including Terran Orbital's GEOStare1 and GEOStare2 missions plus its Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator. GEOStare2 has been in orbit for over four years and has collected hundreds of thousands of images for space-domain awareness. Additionally, the Pandora mission, launched this year, demonstrates a new model for low-cost, high-impact space science using compact telescope technology. Other payloads will fly this year on the U.S. Space Force Victus Haze mission and with Firefly's Blue Ghost 2 Lunar Mission.
