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Craig Burkhardt (Fed)
Deputy Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and Deputy NIST Director
Craig Burkhardt returned to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the U.S. Department of Commerce in January 2025 to serve a White House appointment as Deputy Under Secretary for Standards and Technology and Deputy NIST Director. Until a NIST Director is sworn-in, he also serves as acting NIST Director.
Burkhardt served an earlier White House appointment as chief counsel for technology at the Department of Commerce from 2003 to 2006. In that role, he supervised legal services at NIST for numerous projects, including the building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, for which he was presented a Department of Commerce Gold Medal for distinguished scientific and engineering achievement.
Except for his time with the Department of Commerce and NIST, Burkhardt has served as a private attorney primarily representing utility companies, research organizations, universities, manufacturers, government units and similar entities that develop or use technology. He recently retired as capital partner from a national law firm and looks forward to advancing the mission and capabilities of NIST as it further upgrades the scientific, commercial, and national security strength of the United States.
Originally from Chicago, Burkhardt received a B.A. in economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a J.D. from St. Louis University.