Product Development Professional Experience

RAJ G. RAJENDRAN, PH.D

Hockessin, DE *****

******@*****.*** 302-***-**** www.linkedin.com/in/rajgr

INNOVATIVE R&D LEADER

Adept materials scientist, integrating concepts into new products Experienced R&D professional with proven success in developing advanced polymeric, inorganic and composite materials for energy industries. Hands-on technical problem solver with process and product development knowledge. Experienced in technology development, product development, new project initiatives, project leadership, manufacturing, international technical collaboration, managing customer/vendor interactions and joint development activities with universities and industry partners. Mentor and coach with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Expertise includes:

Materials Characterization and Development Formulations Development

Membrane Fabrication and Development Product Development

Polymer Adhesives and Thick Film Pastes Project Management

Membrane Composites and Film Processing Six Sigma PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SOLARCITY/TESLA INC, Fremont, CA 94538 09/2015 – 03/2017 Staff Materials Scientist, Solar Module Manufacturing & Product Engineering

Lab Manager for material characterization and process meteorology lab (Rheology, Thermal–TGA/DSC, FTIR, SEM/EDS microstructure and Polymer and Electrical Characterization).

Project leader for epoxy adhesives and thermoplastic elastomer films.

Team lead for new product development design team.

Improved working life of thermoplastic film and conductive adhesive in manufacturing line increasing production yield and quality.

Identified and characterized protective dielectric coating formulations for material stability and UV degradation to protect conductive solder ribbon from shorting in PV module. DUPONT COMPANY, Wilmington, DE 19880 01/1995 – 08/2015 Principal Investigator, Solar PV Materials 2007 – 2015 Materials Science & Engineering (MS&E), Central Research & Development

Project leader for developing thick film metallization pastes. Developed two low cost prototype products o Proposed project concepts and secured corporate funding. o Conducted research, developing fundamental understanding of low-cost base metals through microstructure study over expensive state-of-the-art silver paste use. o Studied nano/sub-micron coating as potential protective layer for thermally unstable metal powders. o Performed adhesion interfacial analysis of high temperature fired parts, and resolved soldering issues. o Characterized parts for fundamental understanding and optimization (XRD, XAS, XRF, SEM, TEM, TGA, DSC, TMA, ESCA, ToF-SIMS).

o Developed two prototype candidates. One was scaled-up and sampled for customer evaluation. o Authored / co-authored 4 patent applications.

Improved adhesion of fired front contact silver metallization paste for C-Si solar cells. o Authored / co-authored 1 patent applications.

RAJ G. RAJENDRAN ******@*****.*** PAGE TWO

DUPONT COMPANY (Continued)

Designed new glass frit composition and developed commercial Aluminum thick film metallization paste for solar cells, generating $3M+ in first year sales. o Conducted research on advanced back contact Aluminum metallization paste materials. o Designed, formulated and optimized new glass frit composition for Aluminum paste, enhancing cell voltage and solar cell efficiency by 0.2% absolute. o Developed novel low bow Aluminum paste formulation that reduced >50% cell warpage for thin solar cells ( 160 μm), improving yield which led to decreased solar cell production cost. o Authored / co-authored 4 patent applications and 1 research publication in conference.

Developed low-cost, electrically conductive polymer adhesives for solar cells. o Identified surface coated base metals as low-cost material opportunity by collaborating with vendors. o Studied and characterized the materials for stability and durability performance through thermal analysis and microstructure cross-section study.

o Generated 2K+ hours of mini-module durability data by international team collaborating with prototype low-cost adhesive.

Recognized with Accomplishment Award in 2013, DuPont’s MS&E, for establishing engineering capabilities that supported multiple projects and saved costs for MS&E division.

Received Safety Award, DuPont’s Central R&D, for on-site management and tracking of flammable / explosive metal powder use and safe disposal.

Research Associate, MS&E, Central Research & Development 2003 – 2007

Project leader for fuel cell membrane development program leading a team of 8. o Developed new measurement technique to measure fuel crossover rate and transferred to other labs in US and Japan.

o Designed novel membrane composite structure and reduced crossover rate up to 50%. o Oversaw pilot-scale manufacturing and supplied membrane samples to several business customers. o Served as technical liaison for US and Asia business customers. o Managed 2 sponsored research programs at MIT and 1 collaboration program with industry partner. o Authored / co-authored 1 patent application, 1 research publication, 1 chapter in Handbook and 1 technical review article in MRS Bulletin.

o Awarded Way-to-go Award in 2004, DuPont’s Central Research & Development Director’s, in recognition for dedication to membrane program.

Senior Research Chemist, MS&E, Central Research & Development 1999 – 2002

Led fuel cell membrane development sub-team of 10 and developed first commercial product, generating

>$10M in sales.

o Conducted research and developed higher efficiency coating ink composition. o Developed first membrane/electrode product.

o Served as technical liaison for 3 business customers, supporting their product development. o Designed metal insert and optimized membrane melt extrusion process producing prototype multi- layer membrane structures. Produced in scaled-up quantities for customer sampling. o Authored / co-authored 2 patent applications.

Research Chemist, Fluoroproducts Business 1995 – 1999

Initiated and led polymer electrolyte membrane program. o Authored novel membrane proposal and secured US Government Agency funding. o Established material test labs at various DuPont sites (US and Asia labs). o Optimized novel hybrid nano-composite membrane structures and supplied to other US Government Agency funded labs for cross-validation and prototype demonstration. o Inventor of multilayer fluoropolymer membrane structures. RAJ G. RAJENDRAN ******@*****.*** PAGE THREE

DUPONT COMPANY (Continued)

Developed new membrane structures for batteries. o Identified and fabricated novel flouropolymer membrane for lithium ion batteries. o Resolved cell fabrication issues associated with fluorinated membranes/electrode structures.

Received Way-to-go Award in 1997, DuPont’s Central Research & Development Director’s, for contribution to Lithium Battery Program.

Authored / Co-authored 3 patent applications.

ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (1990-1994)

ICET INC., Norwood, MA

Senior Scientist

Developed novel ionomer electrolytes for Li-ion batteries under DoE contract. Built cells and evaluated

Prepared and characterized Pt-RuOx/C electrode structures for improved methanol oxidation kinetics.

Optimized coating formulations for urinary catheters (antibacterial) and for soldier gloves (protective). CENTER FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS AND HYDROGEN RESEARCH, Texas A&M University, TX Visiting Scientist

Electrochemical characterization study of low-cost Pt electrode structures in PEM fuel cells. SPIC SCIENCE FOUNDATION, Energy Division, Madras, India Scientist

Developed low-cost electro-catalyst ink formulations and fuel cell electrode structures.

Participated in 5kw PEM fuel cell stack development. EDUCATION

PhD, Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India MS, Analytical Chemistry, University of Madras, India BS, Chemistry, Loyola College, Madras, India

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Project Management Professional Training (PMP), Technical Institute of America (2017) Energy Storage Training Course, Battery Innovation Center (2017) Scrum/Agile Training, Grow-Lean LLC (2017)

Six Sigma Green Belt Certificate, DuPont Company (2003) Electrochemical Technology Training, DuPont Sponsored Course (2000) Technology Leadership Development, DuPont Company (1997) Several DuPont Sponsored Courses: (presentation skills, win-win, influencing, Polymers) PUBLICATIONS

Authored / co-authored:

14 Patent Applications

11 Research Publications

1 Book Chapter - “Perfluorinated Membranes”, Handbook of Fuel Cells, Chap 30, vol 3, 2003

1 Technical Review - “Polymer electrolyte membrane technology for fuel cells”, MRS Bulletin, Vol 30, 2005

Several Conference & Customer Presentations

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