Walter is Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and 16th Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and serves as principal advisor to the President on standards and technology matters. He completed his undergraduate degrees in chemistry and music, as well as Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University. Walter has held senior leadership roles as business executive, research & development, intellectual property and innovation at the Lubrizol Corporation, and was Executive VP and CTO with Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc. At the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory he led technology transfer, and subsequently served as President and CEO of the IP Engineering Group Corporation. Walter is a patent holder, has authored numerous professional publications and presentations, and has served on the boards of many organizations. In 2008, Case Western Reserve University recognized Walter as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. He was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2018.