Donnell Walton

Dr. Donnell Walton serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Engineering Management Program at Cornell University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He currently leads Corning’s West Technology Center in Sunnyvale, CA, overseeing research and business development in Silicon Valley. Previously, he held roles at Corning’s Gorilla Glass Division and Science and Technology Division, growing revenue to over $1B in five years. Walton has extensive academic experience as a physics professor at Howard University, where he established a laboratory for optical fiber-based lasers and amplifiers and earned the NSF CAREER Award.

Education:

• B.S. in Physics, North Carolina State University (1989)
• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, North Carolina State University (1989)
• Ph.D. in Applied Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1996)

His research interests span optical fiber technology, materials science, and engineering management. His career bridges academia and industry, focusing on innovation and scalable technological solutions.

Awards:

• National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award

Walton has led global engineering teams and contributed to high-impact R&D initiatives. His academic contributions include pioneering work in laser and amplifier systems at Howard University. He continues to advise on technology commercialization and strategic growth.

Labs/Teams: Formerly directed a laboratory for optical fiber-based lasers at Howard University and built a global customer-facing engineering team at Corning.