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Charlie Gay is a pioneer in the photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing industry with over 45 years of solar experience. He served most of his career in the private sector, at ARCO Solar, Siemens Solar Industries, ASE Americas, and Applied Materials.
Dr. Gay also led the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) for the U.S. Department of Energy 2016 – 2019. Dr. Gay is co-founder of the Greenstar Foundation, an organization that develops multi-function solar powered community centers in isolated villages throughout the developing world.
Dr. Gay started his career at Spectrolab, designing solar power system components for communications satellites. He then joined ARCO Solar, where he was responsible for establishing the research and development program exploring opportunities to commercialize amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide thin film PV. He was also responsible for leading the commercialization of crystalline silicon solar cell manufacturing from laboratory to mass production.
In 1990, Dr. Gay joined Siemens Solar as President, managing crystalline silicon PV manufacturing operations and expanding company sales into 110 countries. He served as Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) from 1994 – 1997.
Dr. Gay served as President and Chief Operating Officer for ASE Americas from 1997 – 2001, where he was responsible for commercializing crystalline silicon ribbon as a starting material in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells and solar panels. In the early 2000s, Dr. Gay served as the Chairman of the Technology Advisory Board for SunPower Corporation.
Dr. Gay joined Applied Materials, Inc., in 2006, serving as a Corporate Vice President and establishing the Solar Business Group. In this role, he recruited and built an organization well in excess of 500 employees, established and staffed a $10 million Solar Technology Center in China, and acquired and merged three international firms into the California-headquartered enterprise.
In 2009, he became President of Applied Solar at Applied Materials. In 2016, Dr. Gay became the Director of SETO. He was responsible for leading the $240 million per year program dedicated to research, development, and early stage commercialization activities contributing to the reliability, resilience, and security of the U.S. electric grid. He retired from this position in 2019.
In 2022, Charlie Gay joined Galaxy Trade and Technology as Senior Vice President, and as President of its affiliate, Galaxy Energy. Dr. Gay is implementing new magnesium alloys and complexing materials, and a new set of technologies, that are transforming the automotive, aerospace, construction, pharmaceutical, energy generation and storage industries.
Dr. Gay has also served as a technology and business advisor to many U.S. and international solar companies and academic institutions. Dr. Gay holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of California, Riverside. In 2019, he was recognized by the American Solar Energy Society with the Charles Greeley Abbot Award for his contributions to the field of solar energy. Dr. Gay was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2013.
Galaxy Energy
Links:
Siemens Solar: http://bit.ly/jsiemens-solar
Greenstar Foundation: http://www.greenstar.org
Applied Materials: https://www.appliedmaterials.com
Solar Energy Technologies Office, US Dept of Energy: https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-energy-technologies-office
Spectrolab: https://www.spectrolab.com
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US Dept of Energy: https://www.nrel.gov
Charles Greeley Abbot Award: http://bit.ly/abbott-award
National Academy of Engineering: https://www.nae.edu/
contact: charliegay@galaxymagnesium.com