Sean Hearne
President & Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Sean J. Hearne is the President and CEO of the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), where he leads organizational strategy, business development, research partnerships and operational performance across a consortium of leading universities. He also provides strategic governance as Chairman of the Board of SURATech, LLC, the management and operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.
Since joining SURA in 2022, Hearne has led the organization through unprecedented growth, streamlined its operations and expanded its portfolio of federally supported research programs and strategic partnerships. He also led SURA’s role in securing DOE’s new management and operating contract for Jefferson Lab through SURATech, a partnership between SURA and Virginia Tech.
Hearne brings more than 25 years of experience leading scientific and technical organizations spanning advanced materials, energy storage, semiconductor technology, nanotechnology and federally funded research facilities. Before joining SURA, he directed the Materials Science and Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, leading approximately 300 scientists, engineers and technical professionals and an annual research portfolio of approximately $120 million. He previously directed Oak Ridge’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science user facility.
During an 18-year career at Sandia National Laboratories, Hearne held scientific and management positions that included co-directing the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies and leading multidisciplinary research in energy storage and advanced materials. Earlier in his career, he worked at Intel Corporation, contributing to copper-interconnect and electroplating technologies for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
Hearne earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in solid-state physics from Arizona State University and his B.S. in aviation technology from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society and served as the 43rd President of the Materials Research Society.
An inventor and published scientist, Hearne holds four U.S. patents and has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. He has also served on academic, government, and international advisory bodies associated with Princeton University, Georgia Tech, Arizona State University and the Singapore Economic Development Board.