Ms. Burrows is currently on the staff of the Rapid Reaction Technology Office where she is the Director of the Emerging Capabilities Division. Her office is responsible for incubating and maturing capabilities and technologies through partnerships and S&T projects with other federal departments and agencies. A career DoD civilian, Ms. Burrows has served in various capacities within the Department of the Navy as a Program Manager and Technology Director with a vast majority of her experience in weapons and energetic materials research and development.
In 2006 she joined the Office of the Director, Defense Research and Engineering and was the Program Manager for the inaugural DDR&E Prize Competition, Wearable Power. Recognizing that game-changing discoveries may come from a variety of sources, Karen ensured each and every prize contender, whether they represented a large corporation or a single inventor new to doing business with the DoD, had an equal and positive experience and would consider working with the DoD in the future.
Ms. Burrows’s recognitions include the Navy Meritorious Civil Service Award, the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the NATO Insensitive Munitions Award. Ms. Burrows has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and is a certified Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt.