Board of Directors
Dr. John P. Schaefer is President, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and CEO of REhnu. He is the former President of the University of Arizona. He served as President of Research Corporation, America’s oldest science foundation, and as Chairman of the Board of Research Corporation Technologies. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Corporation and has been a Director of several Fortune 500 corporations and foundations.
Dr. Roger Angel is Founder and CTO of REhnu and serves on the Board of Directors. He is also Regents’ Professor of Astronomy and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona (UA), where he founded the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab and the Center for Astronomical Adaptive Optics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a MacArthur Fellow, and a Kavli Laureate, sharing the 2010 prize in Astrophysics. Dr. Angel leads both the REhnu technical team and the UA solar high concentration photovoltaics research group, and co-authored three patents covering the technology licensed by REhnu. His record of innovation in optics includes: a new method to grind and polish glass mirrors now used at the Mirror Lab to make the world’s largest and most aspheric telescope mirrors; novel methods to test aspheric optical surfaces, including REhnu’s solar reflectors; and a design and cost study for a million square-mile space sunshade to cool the Earth. He has designed telescopes to image and search for primitive life on Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars and first used optical fibers in astronomy to obtain astronomical spectra, now a widely used technique. Dr. Angel received his B.A. and PhD in physics from Oxford University and an M.S. from Caltech.
Dr. Peter A. Strittmatter serves as Secretary on REhnu’s Board of Directors. He is the Director of Steward Observatory and Regents’ Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an external scientific member of the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Bonn, and a recipient of the Karl Schwarzschild medal. He serves as President and a Director of the Large Binocular Telescope Corporation, is a Director of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Corporation and the Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation, and has served on the Board of Directors of Edmund Optics. Strittmatter and Angel together direct the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab.
Harry George is CFO of REhnu and serves on the Board of Directors. He has more than 35 years of experience in founding, operating, and investing in successful rapid-growth, technology-related companies. He is a co-founder of Solstice Capital. He is currently also a Director of AmpliMed, Lumidigm, High Throughput Genomics, and Syncardia, Medipacs, and Calimune. From 1981 to 1989, he was co-founder, Director, and Vice-President of Finance for Interleaf Inc., a pioneer in electronic publishing. During this time, Interleaf grew to be a publicly traded company with $100 million in annual revenue. In January 2000, Interleaf was acquired by Broadvision in a stock merger that valued Interleaf at approximately $1 billion. Prior to this, Mr. George was a co-founder, Director, and Vice President of Finance of Kurzweil Computer Products, subsequently purchased by Xerox Imaging Systems. He received his A.B. from Bowdoin College.
Dr. Joseph D. Schulman serves on REhnu’s Board of Directors. He is a prominent biological scientist and physician with numerous publications in the fields of human genetics and reproduction. He was on the faculty of the National Institutes of Health for approximately 10 years, and is currently an Affiliate Professor at the Medical School of the University of California-San Diego. He is Founder, former CEO, and current Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Genetics & IVF Institute, a closely-held international corporation headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Schulman is also a member of the Advisory Board to the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona.
Justin Elliott is the COO of REhnu. Mr. Elliott has extensive operational experience in technology commercialization, including business establishment, strategy formation and supply chain development and across all phases of project development in renewables and heavy infrastructure, representing both client-side and contractor interests. Prior to joining REhnu, Mr. Elliott established and led the Field Operations department at Stirling Energy Systems (SES) where he successfully delivered the world’s first utility-scale deployment of a dish-Stirling technology. Mr. Elliott also managed the development and validation of innovative and cost-effective systems for high-volume field assembly, installation and commissioning of this technology to be used on two of the world’s largest solar projects which the company successfully permitted. Between 2000 and 2011 Mr. Elliott held various leadership and management positions within the NTR group, an international developer of businesses in the renewables and recycling sectors, including SES. During this time he managed bids and projects worth over $750m in the Solar Energy, Biofuels and Toll Roads businesses. From 1992 until 2000, Mr. Elliott worked in the construction industry in both Ireland and the UK.
Dr. Thomas Stalcup is REhnu’s Chief Engineer. From 2004 to 2008 Dr. Stalcup worked on astronomical adaptive optics systems and designed and built a laser guidestar system for the MMT telescope. From 2008 until early 2011 he held a position at the W.M. Keck Observatory where he continued his work in adaptive optics and opto-mechanical systems by designing and implementing upgrades to the laser systems on both Keck telescopes as well as designing the laser launch facility for Keck’s $60M Next Generation Adaptive Optics system. Dr. Stalcup received his M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a PhD in optical sciences from the University of Arizona.
Brian Quinn is REhnu’s Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Quinn has over 20 years of international industry and consulting experience in the energy sector, focusing on clean energy technologies, primarily solar power. Before coming to REhnu, he was Technical Operations Director for Stirling Energy Systems, and he was Director of Low Carbon Technology and leader of the Energy & Sustainability Group at Hilson Moran, a leading built environment consultancy in London. From 1997 to 2003 he held program and technical management roles at BP Solar in London and Madrid, where he engaged in commercialization of grid-connect solar and thin-film BIPV technology and international strategic market development initiatives. Mr. Quinn previously held design engineering roles with major EPC companies. He has an M.S. in Energy & the Built Environment from Cranfield University and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Salford.
Warren Davison is the co-inventor of the spaceframe tracker structure, and leads the design team for its development at the University of Arizona. Since 1983 he has been the chief principal engineer at the University’s Steward Observatory. He was responsible for conceptual design and analysis of telescope mirrors, mounts, and enclosures for several telescopes, including the Large Binocular Telescope (11.3 m aperture) and the Giant Magellan Telescope (25 m). He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona.
Blain Olbert is the co-inventor of the reflector manufacturing process. He is Senior Staff Engineer at Steward Observatory Mirror Lab. His professional career as an R&D ceramist and materials engineer spans 25 years with Corning, Owens Corning Fiberglass, and the Mirror Lab. Relevant experience includes glass and ceramic processing, fracture mechanics, mirror coating technology, and adhesives. He received his B.S. in Ceramic Science from Alfred University and his M.S. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Sid Leach is a partner in the law firm of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. Mr. Leach is a patent attorney, and has more than 30 years of experience in patent and other types of intellectual property litigation. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama.
