Chris Keane

Chris Keane, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Vice President, Research
Vice Chancellor, Research
Professor, Department of Physics
chris.keane@wsu.edu
509-335-5532

Tawni Huffman
Assistant to Vice President/Vice Chancellor, Research
tawni.huffman@wsu.edu
509-335-5532

Dr. Christopher Keane joined Washington State University in 2014 as vice president for research and professor of physics (vice chancellor for research, Pullman title was added later). Dr. Keane is also WSU’s Research Integrity Officer (RIO).  He has taken significant steps to reshape the University’s research enterprise. Dr. Keane spearheaded the 120-day study, which identified WSU’s areas of research excellence. He led top faculty members in articulating “grand challenges”—institutional research priorities that focus on urgent regional, national, and global problems. He continues to address those priorities, aiming to, in his words, “define and realize research opportunities that will strengthen WSU, the state of Washington, and our nation.”

Previously Dr. Keane led the user office of the National Ignition Facility (NIF)—the world’s most energetic laser—at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. There he worked with a user group of approximately 400 members. He worked at the lab since 2007, following positions of increasing responsibility with the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration.

Dr. Keane serves on a number of national and international advisory committees. An astrophysicist by training, he has authored more than 100 scientific publications. In 2019, Dr. Keane was one of eight faculty from WSU to have been elected to membership in the Washington State Academy of Sciences, an organization that advances science in the state and informs public policy.