Biography
Dan Watkins has experience in operating and investing roles with start-up companies, particularly in life sciences and advanced materials. Prior to co-founding DFJ Mercury, Dan was the founder and Managing Partner of A3 Associates, L.P., a Houston-based investment firm focused on seed-stage investments and advisory services for start-up companies. In this capacity, Dan co-founded both Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc. and X-EMI, Inc. (VizionWare). He has also been awarded three National Science Foundation grants as Principal Investigator for life sciences research. Prior to A3 Associates, Dan was a Vice President at Schnitzius & Vaughan, a Houston-based investment-banking firm; and served as a worldwide manager for operations and control systems for Scientific Software Intercomp, Inc. (acquired by Baker Hughes). Dan is a co-founder of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Management at the Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University where he teaches a course on venture capital.
Dan currently serves on the Board of Directors for DNAtriX, Illumitex, GlycosBio, Vertos and Marval Biosciences; and is on the advisory boards of BioHouston, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, the Rice Alliance, the UT-M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Technology Review Committee and the Rice Bioengineering Department.
Dan received his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Rice University and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
