TEPRI Webinar
Bringing Residential Wind and Smart Roofing Innovations to Low-Income Households s
Tuesday, March 7th | 12:00 PM Central
The second session of our Energy Opportunities Speaker Series will feature Ignacio Juarez, co-founder and CEO of Semtive, and Jiachen Li, PhD, Co-Inventor of the Temperature-Adaptive Radiative Coating (TARC) smart roof coating.
These two inventors have developed energy systems that help democratize energy access and reduce energy burden for low-moderate income (LMI) households. They will discuss the specifications of their systems, how they can be applied in the Texas energy market, and outline the next steps for deployment amid the growing need for energy reliability and efficiency.
Speakers
Jiachen Li, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher at University of California, Berkeley; Co-Inventor of the Temperature-Adaptive Radiative Coating (TARC) smart roof coating
Jiachen Li earned his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2022. During his doctoral studies, he worked as a graduate student researcher in the Applied Science & Technology (AS&T) Graduate Group at UC Berkeley and the Electronic Materials (EMAT) program at the Material Science Division (MSD) of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Jiachen was awarded the 2022 Applied Science & Technology Excellence in Research Award at UC Berkeley. He was also selected in the 2023 Forbes 30 under 30 list in Energy.
In 2021, Jiachen and his colleagues invented a groundbreaking smart roof coating called Temperature-Adaptive Radiative Coating (TARC). Jiachen is currently leading efforts to commercialize TARC and develop new energy-saving materials for more application scenarios.
Ignacio Juarez
CEO/Co-Founder of Semtive
Ignacio Juarez is CEO of Semtive, an Austin-based cleantech company that has developed a breakthrough wind turbine system and energy technology platform for home and commercial use. Previously an engineer at Johnson Controls, he designed industrial cooling systems for the refrigeration industry.
Prior to that, Juarez developed automotive designs and worked in operations for Argentina’s state-owned railroad, the Belgrano Cargas. MIT has recognized him as an Innovator under 35, Time magazine Best Invention and Semtive has twice been named as a Most Innovative Company by Fast Company magazine.
Bobuchi Ken-Opurum, PhD
TEPRI Director of Research
Bobuchi came to TEPRI with a combined 8 years of research and professional experience in healthcare, commercial, and multifamily residential construction, real estate sustainability management, environmental justice, climate policy, and decision analysis. One of Forbes 30 Under 30 2023: Energy, Bobuchi’s research interests are human-centered and at the nexus of energy, focusing on equity, health and well-being, and socio-technical climate resilience.
