Richard Swartwout
Founder of Active Surfaces
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Overview
Work Experience
Chief Technology Officer and Founder
2023 - Current
Active Surfaces unlock terawatts of solar applications through an MIT patented, ultra thin-film flexible solar technology.
Active Surfaces offers ultra-thin-film solar technology that can be applied to any surface.
Raised $13,250,000.00 from New Climate Ventures, Sabancı Climate Ventures, QVT Financial, Safar Partners, SeaX Ventures, Umami Capital, Lendlease and Type One Ventures.
Postdoctoral Researcher
2021 - 2022
START.Nano Innovation Fellow
2021 - 2022
Develop programming for the START.Nano accelerator at MIT.Nano. Support cohort companies.
Venture Investor
2019 - 2022
Safar Partners is a seed- to growth-stage venture fund.
Graduate Research Student
2015 - 2021
Fast manufacturing processes for nanotechnology and thin film devices M.S./ PhD Thesis and related projects include: -Silver nanowire composites for transparent conductors -Encapsulation materials for devices -Novel chemistry for printed perovskite inks that meet OSHA standards -Novel device architectures for high efficiency (>20%) photovoltaics -Large area coating and printing for perovskite films and photovoltaics -Lead chelation barrier materials to reduce EPA RCRA risk for leaded thin-films
Materials Science Intern
2019 - 2019
Kebotix is a high-tech materials discovery and production company that reinvent the discovery of new materials using AI.
Raised $23,609,764.00 from Ying Fund and Taihill Venture.
Undergraduate Researcher
2014 - 2015
My research includes studying strengthening mechanisms and optical-loss reduction methods of silica fibers for use in data transfer.
Materials Engineering Intern
2012 - 2015
Undergraduate Researcher
2012 - 2012
I studied cobalt ferrite nano particles and their use in magnetic heat switches