MSU NSF ART Principal Investigators and Staff

Daniel Juliano, Principal Investigator

Daniel serves as the Director of MSU's Technology Transfer Office. Daniel joined MSU in 2016, following 16 years of technology development experience in industry.  He first worked in semiconductor capital equipment, developing processes and equipment to deposit ultrathin conformal layers of metal on silicon wafers.  His most recent industry role was in senior management at a VC-funded startup company that grew to 500+ employees, where his responsibilities included creating and managing the corporate intellectual property program.  Daniel has been granted 24 US patents, and has BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lee Spangler, Co-Principal Investigator

Lee is an Associate Vice President of Research and Economic Development and has been at MSU for 36 years in multiple capacities.  He was one of four co-founders of MSU’s Optical Technology Center and its second director and also founded and directed centers for carbon sequestration and energy research.  He has experience leading multidisciplinary teams and collaborations with national labs and the private sector.  He has been Project Director, PI or co-PI on over $150 M in grants and contracts and has patented multiple technologies.

Virginia Bratton, Co-Principal Investigator

Virginia is a Professor of Management in the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Montana State University. She engages in cross-disciplinary research which has shaped public policy, educational policy, been cited in leadership, ethics, and career books, and used in graduate reading lists and training programs. Her scholarship interests are deeply rooted in the study of ethics, emotions, and institutions. Virginia is particularly interested in organizational influence in human resource management contexts from perspectives of underrepresented populations and people of color. She teaches courses on organizational behavior, human resource management, and leadership, and has delivered seminars on conflict management, ethics, and strategic compensation. Since 2019, she has served as a faculty advisor of the MSU chapter of American Indigenous Business Leaders, a group dedicated to increasing the representation of American Indians and Alaska Natives in business and entrepreneurial ventures through education and leadership development opportunities.

Trevor Huffmaster, Co-Principal Investigator

Trevor is the director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at Montana State University where he has the great opportunity to coach, mentor, and collaborate with hundreds of passionate entrepreneurs and startups in our entrepreneurial ecosystem.  Prior to MSU, Trevor was on the founding team of MaternOhio Management Services, a physician practices management organization, and spent over 15 years in diverse leadership roles with leading healthcare organizations.  He has a BA from Boston University and a Master of Health Administration (MHA) from The Ohio State University. More recently, Trevor was a 2015 Alumni of both the MITx Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at MIT and the Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania.  Trevor loves building relationships, connecting people, and working with excellent teams to solve big problems through entrepreneurship. 

Magali Eaton, Director of Innovation and Ventures

Magali is passionate about fostering faculty and student success in technology transfer and building startup ecosystems through inclusive innovation. She brings years teaching innovation, partnership building, and intellectual property law practice to the MSU tech transfer team. Magali founded and helped launch several long-lived organizations and has a strong focus on broadening participation in innovation and entrepreneurship.  Magali holds law degrees from Universite Jean Moulin and Universite de Strasbourg in France, and an LLM in intellectual property law from the University of Washington where she attended thanks to a Fulbright scholarship.

Carl Yeoman, Associate Vice President for Research

Dr. Carl Yeoman is the Associate Vice President of Research and a professor of Microbial Ecology at Montana State University. As an internationally-recognized researcher, Carl has published more than 90 papers, been awarded patents, and received more than $18 million in competitive grant funding from USDA, NIH, and NSF for research collaborations that have provided foundational insight into the socioecological and eco-evolutionary forces shaping host-associated microbial communities and elucidated molecular pathways connecting microbes to human and animal nutrition and health. Carl joined Montana State University in 2012 and has served in various leadership roles, including most recently as MT-INBRE Bioinformatics Director (2020-2023) and department head of Animal and Range Sciences (2021-2025). Outside of the office, you’ll find Carl on the sidelines or refereeing his kids sporting events, running, or adventuring in the mountains.

Tricia Cook, Fiscal Manager

Tricia provides fiscal oversight for the NSF ART program and the Technology Transfer Office. She has over 25 years of experience working with accounting and budgeting in higher education and has a B.S. in Business Accounting from Montana State University. 

Jessica Murdock, Program Manager

Jessica serves as the Program Manager for the NSF ART award and works ensure everything behind the scenes is running smoothly! She also coordinates Non-Disclosure and Material Transfer Agreements for the Technology Transfer Office. She has been at MSU since 2006 and has served in various roles on campus. She holds a M.Ed. in adult education from Montana State University and a B.S. in animal science from the University of Idaho.

Taylor Heinecke, Director of Catalyst Incubator

Taylor Heinecke is a deep-tech operator and ecosystem builder based in Bozeman, Montana. He leads the Catalyst Lab Incubator at Montana State University’s QCORE initiative, where he helps founders commercialize research-driven technologies and connects them to capital, customers, and national partners. Previously he co-founded and scaled an NSF-funded startup, navigating the full arc from university research to venture-backed commercialization. His work sits at the intersection of technical fluency, founder support, and ecosystem strategy, with a particular emphasis on positioning Montana as a serious hub for deep-tech innovation.

Bri Daniels, Community and Mentor Manager

Bri Daniels is the Community and Mentor Manager for the Technology Transfer Office, where she supports faculty, researchers, and students by building connections across MSU’s innovation ecosystem. She is passionate about fostering inclusive, collaborative communities and empowering innovators to advance their ideas and research beyond the university and into real-world impact. Bri holds a B.S. in Business Management from MSU and brings firsthand experience as an entrepreneur and founder.

Brian Arthur, Mentor in Residence

Brian Arthur serves as a Venture Coach at the MSU LaunchPad and has previously taught as an adjunct in both the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship and the College of Engineering. His career has focused on developing products and services across multiple technology domains, including satellite communications, fiber-optic gyros, displays, embedded computing systems, and exercise equipment. Most recently, as Vice President of Product at KVH Industries, he helped build a global satellite network that delivers internet access to ships at sea. Today, that network supports more than 9,000 vessels across every ocean. Brian has also founded a startup built on innovative display technology, co-founded a company manufacturing custom battery packs and chargers, and invested as an angel in several Montana businesses.

Linda Elkins, Mentor in Residence

Linda Elkins is an executive, advisor, andboard member with 25 years of experience spanning engineering operations, innovation, commercialization, and growth strategy. During her career at W.L. Gore & Associates, she held leadership roles across technical development, manufacturing, business operations, and innovation. She later founded and led Gore's Silicon Valley Innovation Center, where she evaluated emerging technologies and built partnerships with startups, investors, universities, and industry organizations. Today, Linda serves in board and advisory roles and works with early-stage companies on strategy, commercialization, partnerships, and operations. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School and engineering degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame. A former Division I swimmer and professional triathlete, Linda now enjoys trail running, skiing, and spending time with her family in Bozeman.

Otto Pohl, Mentor in Residence

Otto helps deep tech entrepreneurs accelerate growth through stronger narrative. His background as a journalist, serial entrepreneur, and Head of Communications for startups has made him a leading industry expert and gives him unique experience to help innovators tell more effective stories to customers, partners, and investors from foundational narrative through ongoing PR. Otto has a BA in government from Cornell, a business master’s from Stanford, has taught Entrepreneurial Communications at USC, and is a Mentor in Residence at Montana State University. Learn more at www.ottopohl.com