C-MOTIVE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Controls Development Engineer / Aditya
has a decade of academic and industry experience in power electronics and electric machines with a specific focus on the design and development of variable frequency drive systems. Aditya earned a BS in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering Pune, India followed by MS in both electrical and mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Aditya joined Unico, Inc. as an expert in drive system development for several years before returning to UW-Madison to pursue a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.
Aditya's master's degree thesis work centered on permanent magnet motor control methodologies while his doctorate focused on control methodologies for electrostatic machines where he studied under Dr. Ludois and contributed to the advancement of electrostatic machine science and design.
Aditya has authored and co-authored two patents and eight academic publications.
After extensive time spent working in the public sector working closely with various levels of elected officials, Brandi pivoted to the private sector with interests in venture capital and startups. Prior to joining C-Motive, Brandi served as the Chief of Staff for an education tech startup and was the Director of Operations at nationally-ranked accelerator, gener8tor.
Brandi is set to graduate with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in May 2024 from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. Throughout Brandi's academic and professional journey, she has consistently showcased a drive for excellence, a thirst for knowledge, and an unwavering commitment to making a meaningful impact.
When Brandi is not working you can find her cheering on all Wisconsin sports teams or playing golf, pickleball, ultimate frisbee, and curling.
Job Titles:
- Chief Science Officer
- Co - Founder
Dan's background in physics and engineering inspired the C-Motive team to develop the company's core technology. He is an expert in both the theory and application of electromagnetics, electrostatics, and solid-state power converters. Also a professor at UW-Madison, Dan spearheads the theoretical development of electrostatic machinery through to the proof of concept stage, while working in close collaboration with the company on projects, government grants, and inventions. He has published over 70 research papers and is an inventor on more than 30 issued and pending patents. Dan's work on electrostatic machines earned him a National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2015. He was named a Gordon & Betty Moore Inventor Fellow in 2017.
Currently, Dan directs a research team of 7 Ph.D. students at UW-Madison and is an Associate Director of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium. Dan and his team's current focus at UW is based around fundamental research in capacitively (electrostatic) coupled power conversion systems.
Dan holds a BS in physics from Bradley University with MS and Ph.D. in electrical engineering earned at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Joel has experience in various industries including retail, warehouse work, service, animal care, and manufacturing. Before starting his work with C-Motive in mid-2022, Joel was a production manager at Meridian Laboratory. There, he managed inventory, purchased lab materials, identified bottlenecks, implemented new procedures, and received hands-on tooling and part development experience. At C-Motive, Joel is responsible for purchasing laboratory and testing equipment for C-Motive's technical team, sourcing material suppliers, determining inspection criteria, and creating commercial documents and expense reports.
Justin Reed - CTO, Founder, President
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Co - Founder
- President
Justin is a cofounder of C-Motive, an inventor of its core technology and patents, and a facilitator of guidance for the company's engineering efforts through development of radically new electrostatic motor technology. This includes all aspects of the product technology, including interfacing with Dr. Ludois' research team at UW-Madison as well as prospective customers for research and product development efforts.
Justin cofounded C-Motive Technologies in 2012 as a Ph.D. student and earned his Ph.D. two years later from the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC), a world-renowned power engineering research group at UW-Madison. Justin is a recognized authority in power engineering, power electronics, motor design, motor control, and motor drive system modeling. He has co-authored 16 technical papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and is an inventor on 5 different patents.
Justin holds a BS of electrical engineering from the University of Washington with MS and Ph.D. earned at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Kath began her career working at a number of technology start-ups on products ranging from the electronic ink in e-books, to cement made from CO 2, to new energy storage materials. She holds a B.Sc.E in Engineering Chemistry from Queen's University in Canada and a Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.
Kath is actively directing the efforts of the C-Motive chemistry development, bringing her experience to focus the efforts of the research team and keep an eye towards large scale process development.
Job Titles:
- Senior Scientist, Testing
Kevin completed his undergraduate education (B.S.) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his graduate education (M.S. and Ph.D.) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Throughout his educational and professional career, Kevin has held a consistent focus on the technology and materials science related to energy conversion. His graduate research focused on hybrid battery/ultracapacitor energy storage devices, and as a post-doc Kevin developed high permittivity nano-suspensions for electrostatic force applications. An interdisciplinarian at heart, Kevin was affiliated with Environmental Chemistry and & Technology (EC&T) program and the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) during his time at the UW-Madison. Kevin holds multiple patents in the areas of energy storage and conversion.
Lisa began working in lab settings in 2018 at Exact Sciences, a biotech company that specializes in the detection of early-stage cancers. Additionally, Lisa has worked in a COVID-19 testing facility, administering and processing test samples during the pandemic. In her role as a Chemistry Lab Technician, Lisa works with the rest of the chemistry team in developing C-Motive's proprietary dielectric fluid. Aside from chemistry, Lisa has received a BFA from UW-Milwaukee and has an extensive art portfolio, making and selling prints, cards, and magnets of her art.
Matt has held product management and leadership roles in a range of startup companies, with experiences that were both venture capital as well as blue-chip company backed. In total, Matt is a six-time veteran of cleantech startups focused on next-generation energy storage technology. His previous endeavors include Firefly Energy, a startup focused on advanced lead-acid batteries, EnerG2, a startup creating high purity carbons for batteries and ultra-capacitors, GE Energy Storage, a startup with high-temperature sodium nickel chloride batteries for utility-scale applications, Aquion Energy, a startup with the worlds only safe and sustainable aqueous hybrid ion battery for renewable integration, Watt-Learn, a startup creating artificial intelligence for grid-connected batteries, and Oriden, a startup centered around a renewable project developer with a 500 MW pipeline of solar and storage projects.
Since 2004, his career in product management has focused on bridging the gap between the lab and the market, developing and selling new technologies into the rapidly evolving cleantech marketplace. With experience in half of a dozen distinct battery chemistries, software, renewable project development, applications from mobile to grid-scale, and well over 100 MWh deployed energy storage across the world, Matt has a track record of defining products and go-to-market strategies that work.
Matt earned his BS in mechanical engineering from Bradley University and holds multiple patents in energy storage and advanced materials.
Job Titles:
- Mechanical Engineer
- Senior Mechanical Engineer
Megan is a seasoned mechanical engineer with a professional background spanning the automotive, commercial kitchen equipment, and government contracting sectors. Her proficiency extends to CAD and regulatory testing, complemented by a diverse portfolio in steering products through the R&D lifecycle to successful production fruition. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.
Michael is well versed in all aspects of CAD, CAM, and operating CNC Machines. He has worked with Gammex RMI creating radiation phantoms as well as Albion Swords creating authentic swords for movie props and competitions. Additionally, Michael has designed and manufactured Hydrofoil wings. At C-Motive, he is responsible for the design and fabrication of motor components and test fixtures.
Job Titles:
- Director of Engineering
- Power Electronics Hardware Engineer
Peter is a power electronics hardware engineer with extensive experience in high-performance wide-band-gap converters and drives. He started his career at Arkansas Power Electronics (now part of Wolfspeed) which focused on the commercialization of multichip modules with wide-band-gap devices where he learned the ins and outs of high-performance power electronics. After 5 years in the industry, Peter returned to graduate school for a Ph.D. where he was introduced to the electrostatic machine. His Ph.D. research focused on the hardware development of medium voltage drives for electrostatic machines.
Peter earned his BS in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Partner Relations
Rachel has been active in pursuing a career in marketing since graduating high school in 2017. She began a marketing internship with iBeauthentic/The Style Garage before starting her studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she was able to obtain a position with University Recreation & Wellbeing as a graphic design intern as well as take courses in marketing, nonprofit studies, and graphic design. Rachel graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in spring 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Community and Nonprofit Leadership and a Certificate in Graphic Design.
Stewart is one of the electrical engineers working on the design and validation of the power systems of the C-Motive motor. Despite being relatively early in his career, he has a wide background in electrical engineering and R&D. Prior to C-Motive, he spent some time at Navico Group, where he developed electrical systems for recreational boats. In the two years there, he helped build the processes that enabled the group to develop full turn-key systems on 3-month timelines before moving those systems to manufacturing and sustaining engineering. In addition, Stewart gained research lab experience in college as well as customer-facing project management and software development skills from his time at Epic Corporation. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida.