Petra Solar partnered with UCF on solar technology.
Dr. Shihab Kuran
Friday, October 3, 2008
11:00AM - Harris Center 101
Abstract
Short Bio
Dr. Kuran assumed various technical, executive and board positions in the semiconductor and clean-tech industries at both public and private companies. Most recently, he founded Petra Solar Inc. where he serves as board member, president and CEO. Petra Solar is a VC-backed company that is focused on the Balance-Of-System (BOS) of the solar electric system by developing innovative electronics and semiconductor products. Dr. Kuran raised $14M in series-A funding from tier-1 VC's. Petra Solar Investors include DFJ-Element (World-leading clean-tech fund), BluRun Ventures (Nokia Venture Partners), OnPoint (U.S. Army fund) and NTEC (Kuwaiti government fund).
Prior to founding Petra Solar, Dr. Kuran was the VP of Development, APG at Fairchild Semiconductor, a multibillion dollar company and the leading power semiconductor company in the world. Before joining Fairchild, Dr. Kuran was the Senior VP of Strategic Marketing at Sipex Corporation in California. Prior to joining Sipex, Dr. Kuran held various executive and technical positions in the semiconductor industry.
Dr. Kuran is also the founder of Sanabelle Water Inc., a water technology company focused on bringing semiconductor know-how and innovation into the water filtration and desalination fields. He also served as director and vice-chairman of the Board or Enpar Technologies, a Canadian public water technology company.
Dr. Kuran has devoted close to 20 years of his life for academic and commercial work in the clean-tech field with particular focus on energy and water. His personal vision is to have a peaceful world with access to clean and sustainable sources of power and water.
He Holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the City University of New York and a TGMP in executive management from Harvard Business School. Dr. Kuran is an inventor and has published over 40 publications.
