Ross E. Dueber, Ph.D.,  President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Dr. Ross E. Dueber is a leading international authority on battery technology. As president and CEO of ZPower, he has led the company in pioneering the development of silver-zinc battery chemistry for portable electronics such as notebook computers, cell phones and smartphones. His success in commercializing silver-zinc, rechargeable battery technology is enabling the industry to achieve unprecedented new levels of battery performance, safety and environmental-friendliness.

In the environmental arena, Dr. Dueber has pioneered new recycling programs for silver-zinc, rechargeable batteries. As a result of his commitment to clean battery technology, ZPower is the first company to offer recycling rewards and financial incentives to consumers in the portable electronics industry. Dr. Dueber's efforts have resulted in ZPower being named a 2009 Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. The company also won the 2008 Innova award from Battery Power Products and Technology magazine, the 2007 GoingGreen award from AlwaysOn, and the Technology Innovation Accelerated (TIA) award at the 2006 Intel Developer Forum.

In recent years, Dr. Dueber has been invited to speak at many major conferences including CES 2009, CES2008, the Intel Developer Forum 2008 and other international battery symposiums. In April 2006, Dr. Dueber was invited to speak at a meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

During his career, Dr. Dueber has participated in defining battery and energy storage strategies for many of the world’s top organizations including the U.S. Air Force, Department of Defense , Department of Energy, and NASA. He has worked with companies such as Ford, United Technologies and Dow Chemical on battery and fuel cell development, and he headed lithium-ion battery research and development at Eagle Picher Industries.

His experience in the power industry extends from energy storage to power generation. He is a past Chairman of the Board for Clean Air Power, a manufacturer of dual fuel engines for heavy-duty trucks and generator sets. Prior to joining ZPower, Dr. Dueber was a Vice President at Emerson Corporation where he worked in advanced technology, venture capital and new business development.

Early in his career, Dr. Dueber was an Associate Professor and Director of Analytical Chemistry at the U.S. Air Force Academy where he was named an “Outstanding Academy Educator.” He was a member of the technical investigation team that analyzed NASA’s Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) satellite after it returned to Kennedy Space Center from four years in space. He is a co-author of the book “Chemical Principles Applied to Spacecraft Operations.” He has authored and co-authored 17 technical papers and holds a patent for sodium-sulfur, rechargeable batteries which are used in stationary energy storage by utilities.

B.S. Chemistry, Air Force Academy, 1982; M.S. Chemical Engineering, Stanford, 1988; Ph.D. Chemistry, Oxford, 1993; MBA, University of Colorado, 1994.

George Adamson, Ph.D., Vice President of Product Development
Dr. Adamson leads ZPower's intellectual property development and oversees a technical team advancing silver-zinc battery chemistry for mobile electronics applications. Prior to joining ZPower, Dr. Adamson was the head of Virtic, LLC, where he directed the company's contract engineering and scientific consulting services. He was also the vice president of research and development at Valence Technology Corporation, a firm developing and manufacturing lithium polymer batteries, where he was responsible for setting the company's strategy for its intellectual property portfolio and launched the company's first three mass-produced product lines. Dr. Adamson was also the senior research scientist for Zinc Air Power Corporation, a start-up company developing a commercial electric vehicle battery. In this position, Dr. Adamson directed an electrochemical research and catalyst testing program to develop a commercial bi-function air cathode. Dr. Adamson is the holder of three U.S. patents, with seven additional under application. He's been published extensively, in such journals as Journal of Power Sources, Chemistry of Materials, Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, Journal of Chemical Physics and Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy.

B.S. Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, 1988; Ph.D. Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1994

Herbert V. Weigel II, Vice President of Manufacturing
Herb Weigel was formerly with Emerson Climate Technologies where he was responsible for all phases of manufacturing, including introducing new products in a start-up operation, and managing the success of product lines already in production. Most recently he was engaged in leading Emerson’s product development process in the global transport market, developing key strategies and successfully leading a cross-functional organization. He joined ZPower in December 2005.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 1991.

Troy W. Renken, Vice President of Product Planning and Electronics,
Troy W. Renken plays a pivotal role in the long range planning and development of the electronics and packaging of ZPower’s silver-zinc battery technology for notebook computers, cell phones and consumer electronics.  Along with his extensive knowledge of electronics, Renken brings a strong career track record of successfully commercializing products in North America, Europe and Asia.  

As Vice President of Product Planning and Electronics at ZPower, Renken has established development partnerships for battery electronics with companies such as Texas Instruments.   He also manages all key customer accounts in Asia and Europe, and has developed an electronics and battery pack contract manufacturing base in Asia.  As a member of the Intel Extended Battery Life Working Group, Renken has been a featured speaker at recent Intel Developer Forums in China and Taiwan.

Before joining ZPower in 2005, Renken managed electronics engineering programs at Emerson Climate Technologies. While there, he was instrumental in launching new products in North America and Europe. He managed all phases of new product introduction from research to product launch in both high- and low-volume manufacturing environments.   Renken was extensively involved with major OEMs such as Carrier, Lennox, and Trane developing products for residential and commercial air conditioning systems. During his tenure, he developed an electronics contract manufacturing base throughout Asia for Emerson’s Climate Technologies division.

Renken holds two patents: one for a fuel gas compression system and one for a refrigeration control system.  While at ZPower, he has filed two more patents related to battery management systems for silver-zinc batteries.  

B.S. Electrical Engineering, Tri-State University, 1993

Arthur N. Budge, Jr., Chairman
Arthur Budge is President of an investment advisory firm which he founded in 1985. The firm provides financial planning and asset management services to a number of private clients. Mr. Budge also serves as President of Five States Energy Co. an oil and gas investment company, President of WMB Video, and Secretary/Treasurer of Texoma Entertainment Company, a Blockbuster Video franchise. Mr. Budge was formerly a director of PRG/Schultz (NASDAQ PRGX) and is a director of several private investment companies.

BA and MS in Business Administration,Texas Tech University.

Norman G. Einspruch, Director
Dr. Einspruch is a seasoned public company director having accumulated the equivalent of more than a quarter century of experience on the boards of NYSE and NASDAQ listed corporations. He was employed by Texas Instruments for eighteen years in a variety of technical and technical/managerial positions, including Director of the Central Research Laboratories.  As a corporate officer, he also served as Director of Corporate Development. He is now a senior fellow in Science and Technology and Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Miami, Florida. Dr. Einspruch holds many technical honors and awards.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

B.A. Physics, Rice University; M.S. Physics, University of Colorado; Ph.D. Applied Mathematics, Brown University.

Chris Fountas, Director
Chris Fountas is a Director of OnPoint Technologies, a venture capital fund of the U.S. Army.  In addition to managing day-to-day operations, he maintains a lead role in the investment process and portfolio management, including advising and assisting OnPoint’s portfolio companies and serving as a director or observer for their boards.  Fountas was a partner with Baker & Hostetler where he grew and managed an extensive international and domestic M&A and corporate practice. He has also co-founded several successful start-up companies and continues to serve as a board member and advisor to many of these companies.

JD, cum laude, University of Miami; BSBA finance and marketing ,Ohio State University.

Steve Shane, Director
Steve Shane has worked with Accenture for 25 years. During that tenure, he spent the first 19 years consulting with many of the largest banking institutions in the United States.  Mr. Shane is currently the President of Accenture’s $900 million US Government business.  In this role, he is responsible for services designed for   departments and agencies of the US Government including Department of the Treasury, World Bank, Department of Veteran Affairs, US Mint, Federal Reserve Bank, SEC, FDIC, and Sallie Mae.  Mr. Shane currently oversees approximately 2,000 consultants and 1,000 subcontractors.  Prior to this role, he was Global Director for Accenture’s Credit Excellence Service Line.

B.S. Mathematics, Westminster College, 1978; MBA, Southern Methodist University, 1981.

Roberta Jean Smith, Director
Roberta Jean Smith was an Associate Mathematician at the Rand Corporation.  She then formed Matrix Planning, Inc. with the goal of providing comprehensive financial planning and investment supervisory services.   Ms. Smith currently serves on the advisory board of Five States Energy Company, LLC.  She is also a Director of Avaworks, Inc. and serves as a manager of several investment firms, including Energy Investors Group, Power Ventures I and II, and Virtual Ventures I and II.

BA, University of California, Irvine; MSMS, University of Southern California; professional designation in Personal Finance Planning, UCLA.

Richard E. Harrison, Director
Richard E. Harrison serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Five States Energy Company and its affiliate, Five States Energy Capital. Collectively, the Five States entities manage over $300 million in funds focused on oil and gas investments and over $80 million in funds focused on early-stage power storage, mobile advertising and wireless technology. Mr. Harrison currently serves as a Director of ZPower, GoTV Networks, and Digital Sidebar, and is on the advisory board of Dispersive Networks. Previously, Mr. Harrison founded and was the President of Taconic Partners, a Texas based venture capital firm focused on startup and early stage companies. Before that, he was a senior consultant with Towers Perrin, where he specialized in strategic planning and organizational development. Mr. Harrison began his career as a sales engineer for Reliance Electric Company. Mr. Harrison holds a B.B.A. degree in Finance from Baylor University and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin where he received both the Sord Scholar and Dean's Awards. Mr. Harrison is also an alumnus of the Dallas Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization.

B.A. Finance, Baylor University; MBA, University of Texas at Austin.