Richard Wirz

Professor. Richard Wirz is a co-founder of Element 16 and serves as scientific advisor. Richie received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2005. He is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department at UCLA, as well as the Director of UCLA’s Energy Innovation Laboratory. Wirz is the original inventor of the technology on which Element 16’s product is based, and continues to conduct research into sulfur-based heat energy storage. Wirz serves as the scientific advisor to Element 16, lending his extensive knowledge and expertise to tackling the company’s technical challenges regarding system lifetime, alternative chemistries (sulfur-doping), and high-temperature testing.