Dr. Reza Shekarriz received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1988.  He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University from 1989 to 1991 and from there he joined PNNL and was a staff scientist prior to leaving the laboratory in 1998 to pursue some of his entrepreneurial dreams. He started as a Principal Engineer and a member of the senior staff in a couple of different companies, namely MesoSystems Technology and Advanced Thermal and Environmental Concepts, before forming his own company MicroEnergy Technologies in 2000. His technical expertise is in thermal and fluids engineering and sciences and he has over 100 publications and reports and more than 15 patents and inventions.  Dr. Shekarriz is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and has served on technical review panels and committees within ASME, Society of Rheology, ASHRAE, and AIAA.   He is currently an affiliate Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington and is on the Industry Advisory Board of the WSU Vancouver Mechanical Engineering Department.

Ms. Nelson brings extensive experience in business and operations. She has worked with large organizations, such as Washington State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Battelle Northwest, as well as a number of smaller companies. She has vast and in-depth experience in finance, media, communications, operations, and human resources. She received her B.A. in Communications and Business Administration from Washington State University.