Michael R. Wasielewski, Ph.D. Founder & Executive Director
Clare Hamilton Hall Professor of Chemistry; Director, Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research (ANSER); founding member, Solar Fuels Institute (SOFI); Senior Scientist, Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory. Mike oversees a range of energy research projects whose funding totals more than $25 millopm. His research focuses on light-driven charge transfer and transport in molecules and materials, photosynthesis, nanoscale materials for solar energy conversion, spin dynamics of multi-spin molecules, molecular materials for optoelectronics and spintronics, and time-resolved optical and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Mike received both his B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago.
Dick T. Co, Ph.D. Founder & Co-Managing Director, Operations
Camille & Henry Dreyfus Environmental Chemistry Mentor and Research Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research (ANSER) Center/Northwestern University; founding member, Solar Fuels Institute (SOFI). Dick will supervise the successful development and implementation of SOFI’s Knowledge Map and collaborative tools for innovation in order to provide SOFI members with the resources and tools necessary to enhance collaboration and project management across SOFI’s Technical Working Groups. Dick’s scholarly research focuses on the creation of better solutions for solar energy conversion through the study of how light and matter interact: Dick employs femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy and ultrafast transient absorption to investigate the charge transfer dynamics of photocatalysts and molecular constructs. Dick received his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from Harvard University.
Jonathan Schneider Founder & Co-Managing Director, Strategy & Policy
Solar Fuels Institute (SOFI) founding member. Jon is focused on connecting SOFI global research efforts with industry and governments. Jon’s past positions include: Principal/Partner, Noribachi, an alternative technology firm based in Los Angeles; Vice President, Energy Risk Management of Goldman Sachs, Asia and Managing Director of the Astra Oil Group based in Singapore and Zug, Switzerland. Jon has also served on a several non-profit boards, including the United World College and the Santa Fe Preparatory School, and continues to maintain a strong interest in organizational governance and the effective functioning of markets. Jon received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his M.A. in Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Kimberly Williams Founder & Co-Managing Director, Development & Strategy
Solar Fuels Institute (SOFI) founding memebr; Principal/Managing Partner/Investor in a variety of enterprises that span farming, petroleum, entertainment, and global banking industries; Kimberly has particular expertise in loan modification. Kimberly has served as Managing Director of a Multiple Investment Fund with partners JE Robert, GE Capital and Goldman Sachs. A long-time Telluride, CO resident, Kimberly is also a founding Board Member, President, Trustee, Finance Director, and Development Chair of many local not-for-profit organizations. Kimberly received both her B.S. and MBA from the University of Kansas.
Meg McDonald, MBA Founder & Director of Finance
Senior Executive Director, Office for Research, Northwestern
University; founding member, Solar Fuels Institute (SOFI) executive team.
McDonald is responsible for strategic planning and implementation,
communications, financial operations and analysis, human resources management
and information technology for Northwestern’s research enterprise. She is
involved in Northwestern’s partnership with the University of Chicago for the
management of Argonne National Lab. McDonald holds an MBA from the Kellogg
School of Management at Northwestern, where she was the Associate Director of
Executive Education. She also earned a master’s degree in Vocal
Performance from Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music, and a BFA in Music
Theater from Illinois Wesleyan University.
