Rachel Taow
Director of Research Contracts and Technology Transfer, Idaho State University
2022 C3E Law & Finance Award Winner
As Director of Research Contracts and Technology Transfer, Rachel Taow oversees research contracting, technology transfer, and intellectual property (IP) functions for Idaho State University (ISU). Joining ISU is a journey back to her alma mater, where she began her career leading proposal efforts for research and development grants in the university’s Office for Research. During this time, she cultivated a passion for nuclear energy and its role in achieving clean economies globally, fighting climate change, and reaching the national goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Deploying advanced nuclear power will position the United States as a clean technology leader and strategic partner at a critical moment in the global clean energy transition.
Before rejoining ISU, Taow fostered these outcomes as the Process Modernization Lead for the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) at Idaho National Laboratory. She recognized that upgrades to public–private partnership agreements are crucial to progress in the nuclear sphere, as many laws and practices concerning government research funding are not directly applicable to the commercialization of new nuclear technology. To that end, she developed and implemented strategies to modernize public–private partnerships to provide industry with efficient access to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory resources, with a focus on commercializing nuclear technology. Taow spearheaded a new agreement model to facilitate multi-laboratory public–private partnerships. She also contributed to the recommendation and adoption of infrastructure legislation, passed in 2021, that includes a statutory extension (from five years to thirty years) for protecting data developed under public–private research agreements. Additionally, she contributed to the recommendation and adoption of a DOE advanced patent class waiver.
Prior to her career in government contracting, Taow served in the U.S. Army for nine years as a Persian Farsi linguist and Intelligence Analyst.
Taow earned her JD with a specialization in Intellectual Property Law at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. From ISU, she received a BA in International Studies, graduating summa cum laude.
+ Learn More About Rachel Taow's Clean Energy Journey (Published October 2022)
You might think that passion and paperwork can’t go hand in hand, but Rachel Taow is out to prove you wrong. After 16 years of working in the government contracting space, she is more committed than ever to streamlining systems, changing culture, and finding ways to deliver more clean energy via nuclear power across the United States through public-private partnerships. A sense of urgency motivates Rachel because the next decade is critical to developing advanced nuclear power, a key component of a decarbonized future.
For the past six years, Rachel has worked with scientists and policy experts on behalf of Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) to increase access to funding for research necessary to develop advanced nuclear in the United States. The funding is significant: The U.S. Department of Energy has invested $62 billion in nuclear research. GAIN leverages funding by developing partnerships between government entities and the private sector. That requires skill, experience, and creativity, an approach key to Rachel’s success. To Rachel, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to government contracting. These approaches require an open mind to allow for collaboration that gets the best results.
As an agent of change, Rachel has worked to improve and grow her own skills to be more effective in her role at GAIN. Inspired by her leaders and mentors, she is currently pursuing a law degree at the University of New Hampshire. By increasing her knowledge of the law, she will be able to further improve the contracting process.