Today we are speaking with Ilan Gur, the Founder and Executive Director of Cyclotron Road, a fellowship program that supports hard science and technology innovators as they advance a project with the potential for global impact. Ilan founded Cyclotron Road in order to provide entrepreneurial scientists and engineers with access to support and infrastructure that he noticed was lacking during his time directing research and technology projects in academia, startups, and corporate labs. The program is based at Berkeley Lab and fellows collaborate with scientists from the lab and from UC Berkeley. Cyclotron Road’s initial focus has been on advanced energy and materials technologies, and they have supported 41 innovators coming from some the world's top research institutions since their launch in 2014.
Prior to founding Cyclotron Road, Ilan served as program director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), where he managed a $50 million portfolio spanning energy storage, solar energy, and advanced materials. Prior to ARPA-E, he launched two energy startups based on materials and manufacturing innovations, including Seeo, an advanced lithium battery company that was acquired by Bosch in 2015.
