Dr. Dan Wayner is a retired scientist and public sector executive. He received his BSc (Chemistry) from McMaster University in 1980 and a PhD (Chemistry) from Dalhousie University in 1984.

Following a successful research career at NRC (1984-2001), Dr. Wayner shifted his focus to R&D management as founding Director General of the National Institute for Nanotechnology in Edmonton (2001-2003) and later Director General of the NRC Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (2003-2010). He served as VP Emerging Technologies at theNRC (2010-2016) and following a short period of retirement, returned to NRC as the Chief Science Officer and Departmental Science Advisor (2018-2022). Dan retired from the NRC at the end of June 2022.

Dan’s contributions to science have been recognized with a number of awards including the Rutherford Medal – Chemistry of the Royal Society of Canada (1999) and election as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada and to the Chemical Institute of Canada.

Prior to joining the AECL, Dr. Walker had a career of 33 years as scientist, manager, and executive with the research and development arm of the Department of National Defence. From August 2005 until November 2010, he was the Assistant Deputy Minister Science and Technology at DND, the Chief Executive Officer of Defence Research and Development Canada and the departmental Chief Scientist.

Dr. Walked is a Senior Fellow at the University of Ottawa's Institute for Science, Society and Policy. He is a member fo McMaster University's Board of Governors and the Vice Chair of the Governing Board of the Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy, located at McMaster. From 2009 to 2012, he served as the Chair of the NATO Research and Technology Board, the senior oversight body for cooperative research within the NATO framework. From 2012 to 2018, he was Chair of the Board for the Network of Centres of Excellence in Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response (MEOPAR), hosted by Dalhousie University . Dr. Walker is a director and post Chair of the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Renfrew County.

Dr. Walked earned a BSc in Physics from Acadia University ('73), an MEng in Engineering Physics ('75) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from McMaster University ('77). He has been awarded honorary Doctors of Science from McMaster University (2013) and Acadia University (2017) and an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada (2015). He is a graduate of the National Defence College and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. Dr. Walker is a recipient of the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service and the Canadian Nuclear Association's 2015 Ian McRae Award of Merit.\

As VP Emerging Technologies, Dan had executive oversight of some of Canada’s large scale science facilities (astronomical observatories, TRIUMF) as well as STI programs in optical telecom, digital technologies, nanotechnologies, attosecondtechnologies, metrology and advanced materials. He established a partnership with Xerox Corporation that led to the first physical presence of NRC in the GTA (Mississauga). As Chief Science Officer, established a technology horizon scanning capability at NRC that continues to support strategic planning.

Dan has a deep understanding of the complex relationship between R&D, innovation, productivity and the STI policy landscape in Canada.