Our Team
Click on our team member's images to learn more about them!
Andrew Davis, CEO
PhD
Professor Neil Dasgupta, CTO
University of Michigan
Professor Jeff Sakamoto, Advisor
University of Michigan
Meera Vijan, Mentor
University of Michigan
Dr. Andrew Davis
CEO
Dr. Andrew Davis is a UM Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. graduate with 5 years of experience in battery cell
design and characterization. He has 5+ years of experience with previous startups, including
participating as a co-founder in a previous startup where he participated in the NSF I-Corps program and
received an SBIR grant on micropatterning of filtration media. Andrew is also a recipient of the NSF
Graduate Research Fellowship.
Professor Neil Dasgupta
CTO
Prof. Neil Dasgupta (CTO) is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science &
Engineering at UM. He has over 15 years’ experience in energy conversion and storage. His research has
been funded by several industry, government, and foundation sponsors. He is the recipient of numerous
awards, including the NSF CAREER award, the ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship, and the SME
Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award.
Professor Jeff Sakamoto
Scientific Advisor
Prof. Jeff Sakamoto (Scientific Advisor) is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science &
Engineering at UM. He has 20+ years of experience with electrochemical technologies, materials, and
technology development. He also worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (1996 – 2007), where he helped
develop Li-ion batteries for the 2003 Mars Rovers. From 2007 – present, he has conducted research on
solid-state batteries, and alkali metal electrodes, and is the founder of Zakuro Inc, a solid-state
battery startup founded in 2017.
Meera Vijan
Mentor
Meera Vijan is a Mentor-in-Residence at U-M Innovation Partnerships. She was President of Ovonic Battery
Company and has worked in the Advanced Battery and Flat Panel Display Industry for over 30 years. She
was also Plant Manager for A123 Systems and responsible for setting up the largest Lithium–ion Battery
Plant in the United States..