Dennis Flood, a 30-year NASA veteran who developed photovoltaic power systems for space and planetary missions, has been named CTO at Natcore Technology. The company said that he will help bring its portfolio of PV intellectual property through proof of concept and into commercialization.
Flood’s initial focus will be on the continued development of antireflective film growth equipment; tandem solar cells; thin-film growth on carbon nanotubes; and a flexible, thin-film photovoltaic material capable of silicon solar cell-like efficiency. He will oversee research being conducted at Rice University (the source of the company’s exclusive licensed technology), Ohio State University, and at Natcore China, the company’s new joint venture in the Zhuzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone.
One of five cofounders of Natcore, Flood has more than 30 years of experience in developing solar cell and array technology for both space and terrestrial applications. At the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, he was chief of the photovoltaic and space environments branch for 15 years and led programs in advanced photovoltaic systems development.
He received two Special Act or Service Awards from NASA for his pioneering work on advanced solar cells for space applications and for research that established the feasibility of powering a human outpost on the surface of Mars with solar energy.
Flood also served as chair of the IEEE Electron Device Society’s (EDS) photovoltaic device technical committee for seven years and as a member of the IEEE EDS education committee. He also participated in the EDS’s Distinguished Lecturer Series, a position he held for more than a decade.
He is a member of the international advisory committees of the European, the U.S, the Japan/Asia and the World Photovoltaic Conference organizing committees.
He is an inventor or coinventor on several patents or patent applications in photovoltaics and nanotechnology and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and presentations in solar energy, electron devices and materials science.
Flood holds a BS in physics from Wittenberg University and an MS and PhD in solid state physics from Michigan State University.