Peter Gerhardinger is President and Chief Technology Officer. He started his career with Libbey-Owens-Ford Co. Inc. (LOF, now Pilkington) in 1977, and advanced through a series of technical positions in the Solar Energy Lab, Photon Power Inc., El Paso, TX where he worked in the team that positioned LOF as a world leader in atmospheric pressure coating vapor deposition (APCVD) glass coatings.
In 1998, Mr. Gerhardinger was recruited to lead the new product development effort for Engineered Glass Products of Chicago, a specialty glass manufacturer, obtaining 12 patents and 8 UL files for the company. Mr. Gerhardinger holds a Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toledo, holds 15 patents, and has authored numerous technical publications and articles.
Dr. Norman W. Johnston PhD holds a doctorate in polymer science and along with many other high level corporate positions was vice president of research and development for Toledo's Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., which became part of Pilkington. He currently is Vice Chairman of Calyxo GmbH, and a Board Member of the University of Toledo, College of Arts & Sciences. He is Board Chairman of Ohio Advanced Energy and the Northwest Ohio Alternative Energy Business Council, and a Board member of McMaster Energy Enterprises & all its subsidiaries.
He has extensive contacts and influence in the Solar and Renewable Energy communities
Dr. Dean Giolando PhD is a full Professor of chemistry at the University of Toledo. His interests and expertise are in the area of utilizing small molecule chemistry to address and solve problems related to multiple layered thin film devices. Since 1988 he has worked with the Pilkington Corporation employing his chemical knowledge to address issues in an industrial setting, and he has assisted First Solar and Engineered Glass Products in dealing with manufacturing issues. His most recent endeavors combine his knowledge related to industrial manufacturing realities with an interest in spray technologies, wherein, with Innovative Thin Films he is working to develop technologies using homogeneous spray deposition. His PhD was earned at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in January 1987. He has obtained more than $24 Million in research funding since 1988.
Alan McMaster served as an engineer at Glasstech, Inc., which was a startup company at that time. Glasstech was developing and marketing a new design in glass tempering furnaces; Glasstech became the leader in the tempering industry and included in its customer list such companies as Ford Motor, Chrysler Corporation, Guardian Industries and Asahi Glass. Mr. McMaster contributed to the development of the high temperature roller hearth conveyor used in the new design. He also contributed to the development of the ceramic castings that line the furnace interior.
Working for Solar Cells, Inc. and then at First Solar, LLC., Mr. McMaster was the Manager of Advanced Engineering responsible for the R&D dealing with thin film deposition. The main development was in atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition. Along with Dr. Dean Giolando, who was a consultant to the company, new equipment was developed for the deposition of a buffer layer. This thin film layer is one of the components of the thin film photovoltaic stack and greatly improved its performance. Mr. McMaster served as PI on successful PVmat contracts with the National Renewable Energy Laboratories.
Dr. Norman Rapino PhD MBA is Chief Operating Officer and will oversee general business operations for ITF. He will be responsible for making sure ITF properly serves its customers, and will supervise the implementation of the ITF business plan. He will supervise the company’s financial and cash flow issues. He has started, operated and merged or sold four companies. Each grew from no revenue or employees to over $5 million in sales and more than 50 employees. He has also been an active investor in several technical startups and in real estate. He holds two patents for consumer product devices. Both of his degrees are from the University of Toledo, his doctorate in Chemistry and his MBA in Marketing.