Rick Schwerdtfeger

A visionary C-level executive and Ph.D.

Materials

Scientist with 25+ years of experience scaling deep-tech hardware and semiconductor technologies from bench to full industrial production. Rick has pioneered three "world's first" and three "world's largest" technologies across crystal growth, thin films, and advanced energy systems, raising over $50M in venture capital and federal grants while growing companies to $400M+ valuations. A proven factory builder, he has designed and ramped high-volume production facilities, overhauled core manufacturing processes, and driven yield improvements of up to 3X across semiconductor-grade operations.

His career spans executive roles at Nexwafe GmbH, Leading Edge Equipment Technologies, ARC Energy, Saint-Gobain, NREL and the National Science Foundation, consistently delivering operational excellence, process leadership, and technology commercialization at scale. He now seeks a senior executive opportunity to drive the next wave of advanced energy and semiconductor breakthroughs.

Chief Technology Officer at Nexwafe GmbH (2023-10 – Present)

• Led end-to-end tool engineering and process development across the full silicon wafer production workflow, covering seed wafer preparation, porosification, APCVD deposition, edge isolation, and detachment for 50–150 micrometer silicon solar wafers from reusable silicon substrates.
• Spearheaded a strategic pivot by overhauling the core APCVD heating technology, improving mono-silicon deposition area by 220% and completing concept design for a 40+ square meter deposition zone targeting gigawatt-scale production.
• Provided executive-level technology leadership aligning multidisciplinary R&D teams with commercial production objectives, driving the company's transition from pilot-scale operations to full industrial manufacturing.

Chief Executive Officer at Leading Edge Equipment Tech (2020-02 – 2023-10)

• Rescued a financially distressed company with only 6 weeks of cash remaining, successfully raising nearly $20M over three years while hiring 7 critical team members and maintaining full operational momentum through the COVID-19 shutdown.
• Led the technical team to achieve the world's first truly continuous silicon ribbon/wafer production process, overseeing tool design, procurement, and deployment while hitting all key technical milestones on schedule.
• Rebuilt and maintained a strong, transparent relationship with the Board of Directors and all employees, managing company operations through significant technical and financial challenges before executing a successful asset sale to a strategic buyer.

Program Director, SBIR/STTR Program at National Science Foundation (2016-08 – 2020-01)

• Built and managed a $60M+ portfolio of 110 deep-tech companies, evaluating technologies, teams, and commercial prospects to drive funding decisions across the SBIR/STTR federal grant program.
• Developed a comprehensive evaluation and due diligence database that streamlined the assessment process, improved consistency across reviews, and simplified onboarding and training for new program staff.
• Achieved strong portfolio outcomes with 65% of Phase I companies advancing to Phase II awards and 40% of funded companies successfully securing private Angel or venture capital funding.

Co-founder/CTO, China General Manager at ARC Energy (2007-07 – 2016-07)

• Co-founded and helped scale ARC Energy from 15 to 130 people, driving company valuation to $400M within 4 years by securing $10M in venture capital and building a $500M+ sales backlog through international equipment deployment.
• Invented the CHES®500, the world's largest production sapphire growth machine yielding 300+ kg crystals, developing world-leading temperature controls of +/- 0.1C at over 2000C.
• Relocated to Shanghai to establish a 25+ person branch office, overseeing facility design, staff hiring and training, and international customer deployments across hundreds of sapphire furnace installations worldwide.

Engineering and Process Development Manager, Senior Scientist at Saint-Gobain Crystals and Detectors (2000-03 – 2006-02)

• Designed and developed state-of-the-art large crystal growth vacuum furnaces for producing high-quality single crystal fluorides exceeding 300kg, while developing world-leading temperature controls of +/- 0.05C.
• Drove significant process improvement through FEA thermal modeling and data-driven team management, increasing crystal growth yields from 20% to 60% a 3X improvement across production operations.
• Managed the full lifecycle of production equipment from vendor testing and deployment to operator training and performance evaluations across engineers, technicians, and hourly staff.

Manager, Crystal Growth Group at Alpha Spectra, Inc. (1996-04 – 2000-03)

• Designed and built facilities and equipment to produce 22-inch diameter crack-free sodium iodide ingots, delivering the project on time in six months and under budget.
• Served as Safety and Health Officer, ensuring full OSHA compliance and managing federal, state, and local permitting, waste handling, training, and all plant safety communications.
• Managed all facility systems including water cooling, power, toxic gas handling, dry air handling, and SCADA data management, while also installing and maintaining the company's first website, LAN, and MRP system.

Staff Scientist at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (1988-05 – 1996-01)

• Coordinated the design and relocation of an $8M crystal growth laboratory facility, growing the world's largest CuInSe2 crystals and conducting advanced characterization using X-ray Laue and Bragg diffraction and SEM/EDX.
• Pioneered the world's first remote crystal growth facility in 1993, enabling dangerous high-pressure processes to be controlled securely over the internet from any location in the world.
• Performed thin film deposition using MOCVD, ion-beam and e-beam sputtering/PVD, and lithography, while safely handling highly toxic gases in a research environment focused on silicon and copper indium diselenide for PV applications.

Ph.D. in Materials Science – Colorado School of Mines

M.S. in Applied Physics – Pittsburg State University

B.S. in Physics/Science Education – University of Dubuque

Transfer Credits in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering – University of Illinois