James A. Poulos III has been a registered patent attorney since 1985 and worked for private law firms from 1984 until 2000. He also has a degree in chemistry. In 2009, he was hired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA–ARS) as a Technology Transfer Coordinator, and now serves the Northeast Area of the ARS.
Poulos joined the University of Maryland Office of Technology Liaison in March 1998 as the Associate Director for technology management. After a national search, in June 2000 he was named the Executive Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Maryland. He has negotiated over 200 license agreements with commercial entities.
Before joining ARS, Poulos served as the Vice President of Technology Transfer and Commercialization at Maryland TEDCO, where he oversaw technology transfer funding programs, including the nationally recognized Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund. He created the Power of Ten™—Think “Shark Tank” angel event at TEDCO.