Robert's 30+ years' industry experience has been in the Internet of Things (IoT) and wearables / Industrial IoT (IIoT) / Connected Vehicle and Telecommunications markets. He has worked in the development of MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), Piezo-MEMS/sensors and semiconductor technologies. Robert's background includes: C-level, business development, strategic and brand marketing, engineering management, and senior scientist and engineering roles. He has been a entrepreneur previously, where he is the founder and former CEO of an energy harvesting IoT-based company, MicroGen Systems, Inc. Robert raised $8M between an angel round and a Series A round of investment plus an additional $4M in government grants over 6-years. The Company transferred the prototype piezo-MEMS vibration energy harvester (pVEH) process from the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility in Ithaca, NY to 200 mm diameter high volume manufacturing at X-FAB in Itzehoe, Germany with >85% overall manufacturing product yield including wafer-level packaging. The team developed the first fully integrated tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS) module powered by its pVEH product for Class 8 long-haul commercial truck tires with Melexis N.V. from Belgium and the largest tire company in the world (proprietary, not Lego! Google it!). These were successfully tested in truck tires over 4-years on tire drum testers up to 75 mph (120 kph), the modules reached 80 °C (could handle up to 125 °C) for 3,100+ miles (5,000 km) without issue. The company's Intelligence Tire System (ITS) module product was pre-announced at the Automotive Sensors Expo in Detroit in 2016. The MicroGen team also released several products to the IIoT market, and ultimately the company was sold in July 2017. The company was recognized as a Top 25 Silicon Valley Company (MicroGen was located in Rochester, NY), an EE Times' Silicon 60 inductee for 4-years running, was runner up for Startup Company of the Year by SEMI MSIG, won Engineering Team of the Year by Sensors Expo, and more. Robert is also considered to be in the Top 12 Movers and Shakers in MEMS by EE Times. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science, a multidisciplinary degree, where he focused on Electrical Engineering and Physics. He has been an invited speaker on IoT, EH and MEMS/sensors all over the world over 30X, where six have been Keynotes. Robert holds 25+ issued US and international patents.
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