General Lab Information

Priscilla Antunez

Deputy Chief Strategy Officer, Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate

Priscilla Antunez

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate
Bldg. 460, Room 109
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-6186
pantunez@bnl.gov

As Deputy Chief Strategy Officer for the Energy & Photon Sciences Directorate and Growth Office at Brookhaven National Lab, Dr. Priscilla Antunez works at the intersection of science, business, and government to advance strategic initiatives that accelerate discovery and maximize its impact. She helps connect researchers, industry, universities, and government agencies to explore opportunities, strengthen partnerships, secure funding, and position the Lab for long-term leadership in emerging areas of science and technology.

Her work spans institutional strategy, business development, strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector collaboration, with a focus on artificial intelligence for sciences, autonomous labs, advanced materials, microelectronics, quantum information science, clean energy, and DOE User Facilities. Having worked across research, technology commercialization, federal programs, and institutional strategy, she brings together the people, resources, and partnerships needed to translate scientific discovery into technologies, capabilities, and solutions that benefit society.

Expertise | Education | Appointments | Publications | Awards | Video

Expertise

Before joining Brookhaven Lab, Antunez developed advanced semiconductor materials and devices at IBM research, which resulted in nine peer-reviewed publications, seven patents, and two IBM invention awards. At Argonne National Lab, she helped researchers protect intellectual property, develop commercialization strategies, and build partnership to expand the impact of their innovations and grow the Lab. During a detail assignment with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, she supported the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, helping identify and advance technologies with strong commercial potential.

At Brookhaven National Lab, Antunez works to strengthen the Lab’s strategic positioning by developing new initiatives, cultivating partnerships, and aligning research opportunities with national priorities. Her goal is to bridge across disciplines and sectors to enable transformative research, expand the Lab’s impact, and accelerate the translation of discovery into real-world solutions.

Education

  • Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Southern California. Researched materials for semiconducting devices: "Solution-phase synthesis and deposition of earth-abundant metal chalcogenide semiconductors."
  • B.S. Chemistry, Cal Poly Pomona
  • B.S. Industrial & Management Systems Engineering, Universidad de Sonora

Professional Appointments

Brookhaven National Laboratory – Upton NY, 2018-present

  • Deputy Chief Strategy Officer – Energy & Photon Sciences Directorate, 2024-present

  • Assistant Director for Strategic Partnerships – Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), 2018–2024

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) – Germantown MD, 2019-2020

  • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Manager Detailee

Argonne National Laboratory – Lemont IL, 2017–2018

  • Business Development Executive

IBM Watson Research Center – Yorktown Heights NY, 2015–2017

  • Postdoctoral Researcher

Selected Publications

  • Antunez PD, Li S, Bishop DM, Farmer DB, Gershon TS, Baxter JB, Haight R (2018) Passivation and thickness control of highly efficient kesterite solar cells. Applied Physics Letters 113:033903. doi: 10.1063/1.5037093
  • Farmer DB, Antunez PD, Hopstaken M, Gunawan O, Han S-J (2018) Patching of Lattice Defects in Two-Dimensional Diffusion Barriers. ACS Applied Nano Materials 1:3068–3074. doi: 10.1021/acsanm.8b00619
  • Antunez PD, Bishop DM, Luo Y, Haight R (2017) Efficient kesterite solar cells with high open-circuit voltage for applications in powering distributed devices. Nature Energy 2:884–890. doi: 10.1038/s41560-017-0028-5
  • Antunez PD, Bishop DM, Lee YS, Gokmen T, Gunawan O, Gershon TS, Todorov TK, Singh S, Haight R (2017) Back Contact Engineering for Increased Performance in Kesterite Solar Cells. Advanced Energy Materials 7:1602585. doi: 10.1002/aenm.201602585
  • Gershon T, Lee YS, Antunez P, Mankad R, Singh S, Bishop D, Gunawan O, Hopstaken M, Haight R (2016) Photovoltaic Materials and Devices Based on the Alloyed Kesterite Absorber (AgxCu1-x)2ZnSnSe4. Advanced Energy Materials 6:1502468. doi: 10.1002/aenm.201502468
  • Antunez PD, Torelli DA, Yang F, Rabuffetti FA, Lewis NS, Brutchey RL (2014) Low Temperature Solution-Phase Deposition of SnS Thin Films. Chemistry of Materials 26:5444–5446. doi: 10.1021/cm503124u
  • Antunez PD, Webber DH, Brutchey RL (2013) Solution-Phase Synthesis of Highly Conductive Tungsten Diselenide Nanosheets. Chemistry of Materials 25:2385–2387. https://doi.org/10.1021/cm400790z
  • Antunez PD, Buckley JJ, Brutchey RL (2011) Tin and germanium monochalcogenide IV–VI semiconductor nanocrystals for use in solar cells. Nanoscale 3:2399. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1nr10084j

Awards & Recognition

  • DOE Award to Explore How to Strengthen Innovation at Brookhaven Lab, 2024
  • U.S. Department of Energy Technologist in Residence (TIR) Award, Brookhaven Lab 2020-2023
  • IBM Invention Awards, 2016 & 2018
  • University of Southern California Provost's PhD Fellowship, University of Southern California (USC) 2014

Featured Video

  • CFN Virtual Tour

    September 24, 2020

    Brookhaven Lab scientist Aaron Stein takes viewers on a virtual tour of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's five nanoscale science research centers.

This virtual tour at Brookhaven Lab focuses on the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's five nanoscale science research centers. This video is part of the self-guided tour initiative at CFN, it was scripted by Ariana Tantillo working with the staff in charge of each instrument, narrated by Aaron Stein, and edited by Tim Kuhn.

Priscilla Antunez

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Energy and Photon Sciences Directorate
Bldg. 460, Room 109
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-6186
pantunez@bnl.gov

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