Victor Bucklew is an Associate Research Scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, and serves as Director of the Innovation Ecosystem and Industry Liaison Officer for the NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC), Center for Quantum Networks (CQN).
Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Victor spent eight years at L3Harris Technologies, where he co-founded the company’s Quantum Information Science and Technology group and most recently served as the group’s Principal Investigator. He also briefly served as Chief Strategist for the Space and Mission Systems Innovation Office, advising on how to direct R&D dollars for emerging and critical technologies across the $10B segment before arriving at UMD. Throughout his career, he has served as principal investigator, proposal architect, and/or technical business development lead on more than 25 funded research programs from a variety of agencies including the NIH, NSF, DARPA, MDA, AFRL, and other DoW entities.
Victor received his B.S. degree in Physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2009 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering / Applied Physics from Cornell University in 2012 and 2014, respectively. He subsequently completed postdoctoral training at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics, where he conducted research in ultrafast nonlinear photonics and laser dynamics. He has also served in leadership roles within several technology startups, including as Chief Engineering Officer and co-founder of Croptix, an ag-tech company focused on optical spectroscopy and AI-enabled diagnostics.
Victor’s research interests span quantum sensing, quantum networking, optical communications, nonlinear and ultrafast photonics, ultrafast laser development, free-space and underwater optical communications, and the transition of emerging technologies from fundamental research into deployable systems. His work has contributed to advances in Rydberg-atom-based RF sensing, quantum-secure communications, ultrafast laser development, and next-generation sensing architectures for aerospace, agriculture, medical imaging, and defense applications.
He is an inventor on more than 25 patents and author of technical publications in photonics, quantum science, and optical engineering. He was selected as an L3Harris Technical Fellow trainee in 2023, received the L3Harris Innovation Seedling Award in 2022 for advancing high-impact research and technology development, and inducted into the Yale Bouchet graduate honor society in 2014.
Victor is passionate about bridging the gap between fundamental science, engineering innovation, entrepreneurship, and real-world impact. Within PhoQS and CQN, his work focuses on advancing quantum technologies while building the partnerships, innovation ecosystems, and translational pathways necessary to move breakthrough research from the laboratory into practical applications that benefit society.