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        • About Us

          URA is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) academic consortium composed of over 94 premier research universities across the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan headquartered in Washington, D.C. supporting government lab management and operation in the national interest.

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        • Member Universities

          URA fosters valuable university research partnerships through membership. URA presents members with research opportunities at national engineering and physics labs, engagement with laboratory leadership and management, and recognition of academic achievements.

        • Lab Management

          Since 1965 URA has been an integral part of the management of Fermilab, overseeing the management and operations of the lab and bringing the expertise of our 94 member universities to bear on the challenges facing the Fermilab.  URA supports scholars and interns doing research at Fermilab and recognizes outstanding contributions.  In 2007 URA became part of the organization that manages and operates Sandia National Laboratories and since then has worked to support the scientific and technical demands of Sandia by supporting external calibration of science, technology and engineering (ST&E) programs; aid in ST&E programs’ strategic planning; and assist in development of university partnerships and diverse workforce talent.

        • Science & Research Policy

          URA strives to engender an awareness of the current national science policy issues among its members and early career scientists. This is achieved through a variety of platforms at URA, including science policy and communication training, connecting scientists and policymakers, and policy town halls and workshops. URA’s goal is to facilitate effective science communication to promote the public’s understanding of scientific discoveries, foster trust in scientific institutions, and facilitate informed decision-making by policymakers and the public.

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URA Staff

Home | About Us | Leadership & Management | URA Staff | John T. Lucas

URA Staff

JOHN T. LUCAS

General Counsel

John T. Lucas joined the URA management team in February 2025 as General Counsel. Mr. Lucas’ career as an attorney with the Federal Government in Washington D.C. spanned over thirty years, where he served as a senior executive at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as the Deputy General Counsel for Business Transactions for eight years, DOE’s Assistant General Counsel for Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property for six years, and as a staff attorney at DOE HQ for sixteen years. Under appointments from Presidents Obama and Biden, Mr. Lucas twice served as Acting General Counsel for DOE, spanning a total of two years.

Mr. Lucas has extensive experience Federal Laboratory technology transfer, procurement and financial assistance laws and regulations, intellectual property, program counseling, legislative analysis, and management and operating contracts.  In addition to managing teams of attorneys across DOE complex, Mr. Lucas led and participated on numerous multi-disciplinary teams to negotiate complex contractual matters, and served on DOE’s Technology Transfer Policy Board.

Mr. Lucas has served as faculty for the DC Bar and is co-author of IP and Technology in Government Contracts.  Prior to joining DOE, Mr. Lucas was in private practice in Chicago, where his practice focused on intellectual property and corporate litigation.  Before practicing law, he worked as an engineer in the night vision industry.

Mr. Lucas holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law, and a LL.M. in Intellectual Property with honors from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He is a member of the Illinois and District of Columbia Bars, and he is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court.