NevadaNano Blog

Naren Prasad

Naren brings nearly 30 years of experience to NevadaNano during which he worked in software development for both new and established companies. Throughout his career he has led product development teams to define new business strategies and initiatives and deliver world leading products. He has held leadership roles for market leaders including Landis+Gyr, eMeter Corporation (now part of Siemens), and CellNet Data Systems (acquired by Schlumberger). He holds a patent for Message-Bus-Based Advanced Meter Information System with Applications for Cleaning, Estimating and Validating Meter Data.

Naren earned his B. Tech CSE from the National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, India.

Brian Krolicki

A veteran of the private banking industry and a master of municipal finance, Brian began his career on Wall Street, working with high-profile firms such as Smith Barney and Bankers Trust Company. A temporary foray into a state government role unexpectedly led to Brian’s 24-year career in public service, and to four sweeping election victories to the Nevada Constitutional Offices of Lieutenant Governor and State Treasurer. Brian is the first person in Nevada history to be term-limited twice.

As Lieutenant Governor, Brian led Nevada’s economic expansion efforts and spearheaded strategic legislation that prompted the state’s emergence as an economic innovator and a preferred location for new and expanding businesses.

Brian served in a wide variety of critical positions during his service to Nevada, including the strategic roles of Chairman of the Nevada Commission on Economic Development and as the President of the Nevada State Senate for most of the past decade. As State Treasurer, Brian streamlined the management of Nevada’s financial operations and negotiated the first upgrade to the state’s credit rating in 30 years. During his tenure, Nevada became the first state treasury to receive the Certificate of Excellence in Investment Policy. Brian was also honored by the nation’s municipal finance industry with the prestigious Award for Excellence in Public Finance for his pioneering efforts and advocacy on behalf of the State Debt Management Network.

Brian’s natural aptitude for leadership and governance led to his management of several national associations and boards. As the unanimously elected president of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST), Brian established and co-chaired the association’s Corporate Governance Committee, which championed critical capital market and regulatory reforms with the leverage represented by the approximate $2 trillion in collective treasury assets. In 2004, Brian earned the distinction from his colleagues as the nation’s “Most Outstanding State Treasurer.” As demonstrated by his founding of the NAST Foundation, where Brian advocated a broad range of financial awareness and education initiatives across the country, financial literacy has always been a cornerstone of his efforts.

Brian is a graduate of Stanford University, and currently serves on multiple corporate and non-profit boards.

Gary Collins

Head of Sales, GM

• 15+ years of international Sales leadership in Fortune 100 Companies
  Managing teams of 100+ and sales of $30M
• Career experience in safety and Oil and Gas sales

Ian Rogoff

Ian Rogoff is Co-Founder and General Partner at Sierra Nevada Partners, an investment management company established to buy and grow sustainable businesses located in the Western U.S. He is an active investor in enterprise software and renewable energy, and serves as Chairman of the Board of New Energy Nexus, a 501(c)(3) fund and accelerator that supports diverse clean energy entrepreneurs around the world. Ian has diverse industry experience including software, discrete manufacturing, aerospace and energy.  He has functional experience in engineering, consulting, software development, systems integration, business development, M&A and technology commercialization.

Ian’s prior roles include Vice President of the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft Corp, Vice President of Enterprise Services at Microsoft, District Manager for Systems Integration at Digital Equipment Corp., and Co-Founder and President of Optimum Software, a privately-held software and consulting firm.

Ian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Miami, a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master of Liberal Arts from Stanford University, and has completed an executive management program at Dartmouth College. He serves on the Board of Directors of a number of technology companies, nonprofit organizations, and higher-educational institutions.

Adam McBrady, PhD

Vice President of Engineering

• Director of Engineering, Sensing and IOT Advanced Technology, Honeywell
• 15+ years sensor and systems development experience

Naren Prasad

Chief Product Architect and Delivery Officer

Thomas Kenny

Dr. Thomas Kenny joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford in 1994. He is currently the Richard W. Weiland Chair and Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs. His research investigates fundamental issues and applications of micromechanical structures.

Dr. Kenny has been co-founder of 3 startup companies (Cooligy – acquired by Emerson, SiTime – acquired by Megachips, and Applaud Medical – currently raising seed funding). He served as Program Manager in the Microsystems Technology Office at DARPA from 2006-2010. He was General Chair for Transducers 2015 (just concluded), and has been involved in several other conferences. He has advised more than 50 PhD students and co-authored more than 250 technical publications and has more than 50 issued patents.

Marc Madou

Dr. Marc Madou is the Chancellor’s Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California-Irvine. His research interests include miniaturization science (MEMS and NEMS) with emphasis on chemical and biological applications. Current projects include polymer actuators (for drug delivery), C-MEMS and CD based fluidics.

Before joining UCI, Dr. Madou was Vice President of Advanced Technology at Nanogen in San Diego, California. Dr. Madou was the founder of the SRI International’s Microsensor Department, founder and President of Teknekron Sensor Development Corporation (TSDC), Visiting Miller Professor at UC Berkeley and Endowed Chair at the Ohio State University (Professor in Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering). Dr. Madou’s introduction to MEMS and NEMS, the third edition of “Fundamentals of Microfabrication,” was published in July of last year. Dr. Madou currently leads UCI’s efforts in Advanced Manufacturing and in Educational Outreach in Advanced Manufacturing.

Jesse Adams

Dr. Jesse Adams received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a business minor from the University of Nevada, Reno. Jesse went to Stanford University with a NSF graduate fellowship, where he received a Masters of Science in mechatronics. He received a Ph.D. in nanotechnology working with the co-inventor of the Atomic Force Microscope, Calvin Quate, and as part of his research developed a high-speed multi-probe AFM. While at Stanford, Jesse served on a special committee for the provost, then Condoleezza Rice, to explore and recommend emergency graduate housing solutions. Jesse also served two terms as the assistant director of the respected sophomore college at Stanford.

As an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, Jesse developed a self-sensing microcantilever platform  for explosives detection, chemical vapor detection, and water quality sensing. In addition, Jesse did research on laser physics targets and developed a new course in nanotechnology that trained students in a broad understanding of the field. Jesse is a co-author of a first-of-its-kind textbook, Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems, as well as more than 20 technical papers. He has multiple patents and patents pending, has given invited talks on scanning probe microscopy and microcantilever chemical sensing and won a regional and a national speaking award, as well as a national design award, a university innovation award, and the 2004 Scientific American 50 award in the defense category.

Julian Gardner

Julian Gardner BSc PhD DSc FIET FREng is the Professor of Electronic Engineering at the University of Warwick, UK. His research interests are in the field of silicon microsensors & MEMS devices, with specialities in artificial olfaction, chemical sensing, smart sensors, and multi-sensor signal processing methods.  He has published over 500 technical papers and is an author of 8 books. He was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Germany in 1994 and Fellow of the Institute of Technology in 1997.

In addition to being professor of electronic engineering, he is Founder and Head of the Microsensors & Bioelectronics Laboratory in the School of Engineering at Warwick University. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2006 and won the IET JJ Thompson Medal for Achievements in Electronics in 2007. He has been involved in the spin-out of three companies; most recently he co-founded Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd (CCS Ltd) and was its CTO from 2008 to 2014. CCS Ltd was voted Company of the Year in both 2012 and 2015 at the Business Weekly Awards and was acquired by ams AG in June 2016.

Michael D. Cable

Dr. Mike D. Cable has been the Executive Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC) since January 2016. Before coming to BSAC, Dr. Cable worked at a number of early-stage technology companies commercializing university-based research. These include CEO of Matrix Sensors (MEMS-based biological and environmental sensors), CTO of Xenogen (pre-clinical bioluminescent imaging), and high-level positions at Nanomix, Xradia, Fovi Optics, and Quantum Dot. He has also worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (laser fusion) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (physical biosciences). Dr. Cable has over 40 patents and received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley and his B.S. from Iowa State University.

Jesse Adams

Jesse received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a business minor from the University of Nevada, Reno. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and also received the outstanding mechanical engineering senior award. After winning a NSF graduate fellowship, Jesse went to Stanford University, where he received a Masters of Science in mechatronics. His research interests led him to pursue a Ph.D. in nanotechnology working with the co-inventor of the Atomic Force Microscope, Calvin Quate. He developed a high-speed multi-probe AFM, which necessitated extensive work in the Stanford clean room to fabricate active AFM probes. This research was enhanced by a learning technology and educational reform component under the direction of Larry Leifer, then Director of the Stanford Learning Laboratory. While at Stanford, Jesse served on a special committee for the provost, then Condoleezza Rice, to explore and recommend emergency graduate housing solutions. Jesse also served two terms as the assistant director of the respected sophomore college at Stanford.

While an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, Jesse developed a self-sensing microcantilever platform being investigated for explosives detection, chemical vapor detection, and water quality sensing. In addition, Jesse did research on laser physics targets and developed a new course in nanotechnology that trained students in a broad understanding of the field. Jesse is a co-author of a first-of-its-kind textbook, Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems, as well as more than 20 technical papers. He has multiple patents and patents pending, has given invited talks on scanning probe microscopy and microcantilever chemical sensing and won a regional and a national speaking award, as well as a national design award, a university innovation award, and the 2004 Scientific American 50 award in the defense category.

Gregory Hulecki

Venture Partner

Greg is a Venture Partner with Advantage Capital. He serves on the boards of Hortau and Cultiva. Prior to Advantage Capital, Greg was a Partner and founder of FA Technology Ventures, which funded successes like iRobot, E Ink and A123. He serves on the Board of Directors of Auterra and until their exits, served on the boards of BinOptics, Autotask, Softricity, Concentrix and IP MobileNet. He is also a board observer at CreditSights.

Greg has an extensive history in private equity investing and investment experience across every stage of the venture capital/private equity life cycle. Greg was a Managing Director and founder of Seacoast Capital (1994-2000), a $100 million growth equity fund. Prior to founding Seacoast, Greg managed the investment portfolio of Signal Capital, a Sam Zell backed fund ($1 billion) that invested in a wide variety of assets and distressed securities. Prior to Signal Capital, Greg worked as a principal at Capital Growth Partners, a mid-market PE firm focused on providing growth equity and mezzanine capital, and Venture Founders, an early stage technology venture firm where he was involved with successful investments in Vicor (NASDAQ: VICR) and MatrixOne (IPO;subsequently acquired by Dassault Systems).

Greg has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bob Christensen

Senior Director Business Development

Bob brings 30+ years of business development, sales, and marketing leadership with a variety of technology companies from large enterprises like Microsoft to new emerging startups driving disruptive solutions.

The majority of his career was with Microsoft where he led several business development initiatives including; acquisition/integration efforts, channel development, and new product go-to-market campaigns. His last position at Microsoft as the Senior Director of Online Services, was instrumental in launching Microsoft’s initial SaaS business models, Office 365 and Azure.

After a successful 16 year career at Microsoft, Bob has been leading several business development efforts with technology startups. Industries and solutions include; mining IoT solutions, industrial minerals, software, and prescriptive drug marketplaces.

Bob has BS degree in Marketing with an Engineering minor from Arizona State
University.

Rain Cui

Rain is Director of JCI Ventures and leads corporate venture for Johnson Controls; she believes it is a great privilege to work alongside and help entrepreneurs build transformative and disruptive companies. Her investment areas of interest include AI and Machine Learning, Unmanned Machines, IoT, Security, and Smart Building technologies. Prior to joining JCI Ventures, Rain worked at GE Ventures where she helped advise on strategic and financial healthcare startup investments to drive growth for GE and its start-up partners. She started her career in healthcare analytics before becoming a tech investor, serving as Director of Biostatistics at a bioinformatics startup as well as a life sciences data analytics consultant. Rain was recognized as one of Global Corporate Venturing’s Top 20 Rising Stars in 2018. She holds a Biostatistics Ph.D. from Harvard University and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ray Stata

Mr. Stata was a Co-Founder of Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) in 1965 and served as CEO and Chairman until 1996. He now serves as Chairman of the Board. With sales of $3.4B, ADI is recognized for leadership in the design and manufacture of analog and digital signal processing semiconductors. Mr. Stata has been active as an investor in and board member of more than 40 early stage technology based new ventures.Mr. Stata, class of ’57, holds a BSEE and MSEE from MIT. Until 2010 he served for many years as Chairman of the Visiting Committee of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and as a member of MIT’s Executive Committee and the MIT Corporation. He also served on the visiting committees for Sponsored Research and for Linguistics and Philosophy. He is presently a member of the Dean of Engineering Advisory Council. He is also engaged in MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service which advises students and faculty who wish to become entrepreneurs.

Stuart Feigin

In 1978 at the age of 31, Stuart became the fifth employee of Oracle Corporation. His position as one of the original design programmers for the company was just one of several major positions in the technology field that contributed to his unending interest and career in technology and electronics. Prior to working for Oracle, Stuart also served as a programmer for companies such as Trilogy Systems, Amdahl Corporation, USC Information Sciences Institute, and UCLA. Stuart’s broad knowledge of technology aides the company in its major decisions for the future.

Ronnie Mack

Vice President Manufacturing

Ronnie has more than 30 years of Silicon Valley immersion as an executive, engineer and as a seasoned professional in the semiconductor and solar start-up space. He participated in 5 Silicon Valley technology ventures where he directed worldwide engineering organizations in areas of Product, Test, Manufacturing and Operations. He personally commissioned over ten manufacturing centers throughout Japan, India, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia.

Most recently, at Solaria, as the Senior Director of Product and Test Engineering, Ronnie successfully directed the efforts in design, development and manufacturing of Solaria’s concentrator photovoltaics solar technology including installing two 100 MW manufacturing lines in Pune and Hyderabad, India.

Prior to Solaria, Ronnie directed the global test operations and manufacturing engineering organizations for Xilinx, Inc., a $1.6 billion dollar semiconductor company. In this capacity, Ronnie was responsible for the corporate test budget, capacity planning, forecast, COGS and CapEx governing more than 10 SEA manufacturing nodes including native test facilities in San Jose CA, Ireland and Singapore.

Ronnie has been awarded 9 patents in semiconductor design and test methodologies with an additional 3 patent submissions in solar test and solar signature analysis techniques.

Ronnie earned a BSEET from Cogswell Polytechnical College and is a US Navy veteran.

He also carries certifications as a Six Sigma Black Belt and as a Project Management Professional.

Ralph Whitten

President and Member of Board of Directors