Dr. William Miller (Chairman, Founder)
Dr. Miller is a Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management and Computer Science Emeritus and he was Vice President and Provost of Stanford University. He is Chairman Emeritus of Borland Software Corporation. He is also President and CEO Emeritus of SRI International. He has served on the board of directors of several major companies such as Wells Fargo Bank, Varian Associates, Fireman's Fund Insurance, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Dr. Miller also played a role in the founding of the first Mayfield Fund as a special limited partner and advisor to the general partners. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue University.
Pankaj Dhingra (Chief Executive Officer)
Pankaj has more than 25 years of experience leading both large and small companies, ranging from a technology startup to a $650 million global automotive components business. He was a finalist for the 2009 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award. His functional experience spans finance, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing with Delphi, General Motors and Unisys. At Delphi, he turned around the company's battery business from $100M annual losses to substantial profits before selling it to Johnson Controls. Prior to joining Nanostellar Pankaj served as President of Ener1, Inc., an alternative energy technologies company. Pankaj has a BS in Electrical Engineering from BITS, Pilani in India and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Columbia University.
Samuel D. Hires (President of Heavy Duty Business)
Sam Hires has more than 35 years of industry experience at Cummins and Ford in leading heavy-duty diesel businesses and engineering teams. During the last 16 years, as Cummins Vice President, Sam directed the Light Duty Diesel Program, and Engineering Development for both Heavy Duty and High Horsepower Products. Sam also served on several Cummins global joint ventures boards, including CMD (Cummins/MerCruiser joint venture), CWEC (Cummins/Wartsila joint venture), CKEC (Cummins/Komatsu joint venture) and Cummins India Limited. Sam holds a MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA in Finance.
Dr. Bulent Yavuz (Vice President, Sales & Marketing)
Bulent has 20 years of experience in new business development, sales and research, all in Engelhard. Prior to joining Nanostellar, he was Engelhard's North America sales manager for its heavy duty diesel business. Over the years, Bulent held global management positions in emissions control for motorcycle, small engines, aircraft ozone and PremAir® led teams creating more than $100 million in new business. Earlier in his career, worked in R&D, Fulbright scholar with 9 US patens on diesel oxidation catalyst and porous ceramic substrates, Bulent obtained his bachelors degree from METU in Turkey, MSc from Univ. of Florida and PhD from Penn State in Material Science.
Dr. Kyeongjae (KJ) Cho (Chief Scientific Office, Founder)
Dr. KJ Cho is a leading authority in computational nano-science who co-founded Nanostellar in 2004. He is an Associate Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering (Materials Science and Engineering Program) at the University of Texas, Dallas. Before joining UT Dallas in 2006, Dr. Cho was an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University where he served as the director of the Stanford Computational Materials Science Lab. Dr Cho has a PhD in Physics from MIT and an MSc in Physics from Seoul National University.
Philip Smith (Chief Financial Officer)
Philip is a senior executive who has raised over $80 million in venture funding for multiple companies. Philip has 10 years CFO experience in pre-IPO software (including subscription and SAAS models), biometrics, services and fabless semiconductor companies and has previously held senior positions in corporate strategy and business development in international firms around the world. He has a BSc in Physics from Imperial College, is a Chartered Accountant (UK) and is also registered as a CPA in the United States.
Xianghong Hao (Director, R&D)
Dr. Hao joined Nanostellar in 2004, and is currently Director of Product Research and Development. Dr. Hao has responsibility for material and process development, engineering, and scale up at Nanostellar. Dr. Hao has led research teams developing products for automotive catalysts. Prior to joining Nanostellar, Mrs. Hao received her doctorate from the University of Illinois, Chicago, in the filed of heterogeneous catalyst preparation and evaluation and has extensive experience in functional nonmaterial synthesis and characterization.
Dr. Miller is a Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management and Computer Science Emeritus and he was Vice President and Provost of Stanford University. He is Chairman Emeritus of Borland Software Corporation. He is also President and CEO Emeritus of SRI International. He has served on the board of directors of several major companies such as Wells Fargo Bank, Varian Associates, Fireman's Fund Insurance, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Dr. Miller also played a role in the founding of the first Mayfield Fund as a special limited partner and advisor to the general partners. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue University.
Pankaj Dhingra (Chief Executive Officer)
Pankaj has more than 25 years of experience leading both large and small companies, ranging from a technology startup to a $650 million global automotive components business. He was a finalist for the 2009 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award. His functional experience spans finance, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing with Delphi, General Motors and Unisys. At Delphi, he turned around the company's battery business from $100M annual losses to substantial profits before selling it to Johnson Controls. Prior to joining Nanostellar Pankaj served as President of Ener1, Inc., an alternative energy technologies company. Pankaj has a BS in Electrical Engineering from BITS, Pilani in India and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from Columbia University.
Samuel D. Hires (President of Heavy Duty Business)
Sam Hires has more than 35 years of industry experience at Cummins and Ford in leading heavy-duty diesel businesses and engineering teams. During the last 16 years, as Cummins Vice President, Sam directed the Light Duty Diesel Program, and Engineering Development for both Heavy Duty and High Horsepower Products. Sam also served on several Cummins global joint ventures boards, including CMD (Cummins/MerCruiser joint venture), CWEC (Cummins/Wartsila joint venture), CKEC (Cummins/Komatsu joint venture) and Cummins India Limited. Sam holds a MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and an MBA in Finance.
Dr. Bulent Yavuz (Vice President, Sales & Marketing)
Bulent has 20 years of experience in new business development, sales and research, all in Engelhard. Prior to joining Nanostellar, he was Engelhard's North America sales manager for its heavy duty diesel business. Over the years, Bulent held global management positions in emissions control for motorcycle, small engines, aircraft ozone and PremAir® led teams creating more than $100 million in new business. Earlier in his career, worked in R&D, Fulbright scholar with 9 US patens on diesel oxidation catalyst and porous ceramic substrates, Bulent obtained his bachelors degree from METU in Turkey, MSc from Univ. of Florida and PhD from Penn State in Material Science.
Dr. Kyeongjae (KJ) Cho (Chief Scientific Office, Founder)
Dr. KJ Cho is a leading authority in computational nano-science who co-founded Nanostellar in 2004. He is an Associate Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering (Materials Science and Engineering Program) at the University of Texas, Dallas. Before joining UT Dallas in 2006, Dr. Cho was an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University where he served as the director of the Stanford Computational Materials Science Lab. Dr Cho has a PhD in Physics from MIT and an MSc in Physics from Seoul National University.
Philip Smith (Chief Financial Officer)
Philip is a senior executive who has raised over $80 million in venture funding for multiple companies. Philip has 10 years CFO experience in pre-IPO software (including subscription and SAAS models), biometrics, services and fabless semiconductor companies and has previously held senior positions in corporate strategy and business development in international firms around the world. He has a BSc in Physics from Imperial College, is a Chartered Accountant (UK) and is also registered as a CPA in the United States.
Xianghong Hao (Director, R&D)
Dr. Hao joined Nanostellar in 2004, and is currently Director of Product Research and Development. Dr. Hao has responsibility for material and process development, engineering, and scale up at Nanostellar. Dr. Hao has led research teams developing products for automotive catalysts. Prior to joining Nanostellar, Mrs. Hao received her doctorate from the University of Illinois, Chicago, in the filed of heterogeneous catalyst preparation and evaluation and has extensive experience in functional nonmaterial synthesis and characterization.