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Wakonda Technologies was founded in 2005 by Dr. Les Fritzemeier and Professor Ryne Raffaelle of the Rochester Institute of Technology. The company was established to exploit the intersection of their respective skills in metallurgical processing and advanced photovoltaic devices. Wakonda was started in Rochester NY and used the facilities at RIT, Cornell University and several government agencies to conduct proof of concept experiments. In 2008, the company moved to Massachusetts to accelerate product development and early commercialization.
Wakonda has received several honors over its short history, winning the first ever Golden Horseshoe Business Challenge in upstate NY and being named the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.
"Wakonda" is a Native American word that is associated with the Osage tribe of the Great Plains. According to La Flesche's Dictionary of the Osage Language (1932), "Wakonda" refers to the force that created and sustains the universe, hence, our interpretation of "Wakonda" as "The Power That Resides in Nature™". According to the Osage, "Wakonda" is present in all things, and it is the power of the sun that Wakonda (the company) works to employ.
Today, Wakonda Technologies is growing quickly, as it seeks to accelerate the development and market introduction of its technology that will help everyone harness
The Power That Resides in Nature™.
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Les Fritzemeier
Founder, President and CEO
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Dr. Fritzemeier has nearly 25 years of successful business development experience in power conversion technologies. He spent 12 years in aerospace power development and 7+ years in the electric power technology industry where he established and directed a successful strategic product development effort and major corporate alliances from 1996-2001. Les's background includes extensive experience in strategic alliances, intellectual property strategy and organization development. Immediately prior to founding Wakonda, he directed the business development activities of the Infotonics Technology Center in upstate NY, negotiating equity investments valued at over $10 million, managing intellectual property and marketing functions and helping to launch three startups.
Fritzemeier is a named inventor on 23 U.S. Patents. He holds a Doctorate in Metallurgy from Columbia University and an MBA (with honors) from California Lutheran University.
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Ryne P. Raffaelle
Cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer
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Dr. Raffaelle is Professor of Physics and Microsystems Engineering and Director of the NanoPower Research Labs at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He specializes in advancing the state of the art in power generation and integration using nanotechnology. He has over 100 journal and conference publications and has authored three book chapters. He consults to industry and is currently directing, among his broader activities, over $5 million in university research programs applying nanomaterials to photovoltaic power generation.
Ryne holds a B.S. from Southern Illinois University (Physics) 1984, a M.S. from Southern Illinois University (Physics) 1986 and a Ph.D. from University of Missouri-Rolla (Physics) 1990.
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Jay Fiske
Vice President of Operations
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Jay Fiske manages strategic external relations and internal operations for Wakonda Technologies. Prior to joining Wakonda, Jay was a General Partner at the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund (MGEF), a venture capital fund focused on making early-stage investments in clean technology companies. As part of this work, Jay led MGEF's A-round investment in Wakonda.
Prior to the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, Jay held a variety of business development and product management positions with Teradyne, Incorporated. Jay also spent several years as a manufacturing consultant for Coopers & Lybrand Consulting, where he designed and implemented lean manufacturing systems for clients across many industries, including semiconductor manufacturing, sheet metal fabrication, and industrial chemical production.
Jay holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management, and an MS in mechanical engineering, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Fellow in the Leaders for Manufacturing program. He earned his BS in mechanical engineering from Yale University.
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