Mentor

Craig Nelson is a serial entrepreneur with a career in establishing and managing technology companies spanning semiconductor thin film deposition, automated industrial manufacturing systems, and polymer lithium ion battery development and production. His system design work at EMCORE, established the first MOCVD systems for compound semiconductor ternary and quaternary materials for optoelectronic devices demonstrating mono-atomic layer interfaces. This capability enabled the creation of high brightness LED’s for automotive taillights among other devices. As a co-founder of Solicore, he developed a patented hot laminate-able Smart Card primary lithium polymer battery for the emerging powered credit card industry, and the processes to embed the cell into the smart card, optimizing manufacturing and establishing a global supply chain and quality infrastructure. Currently Nelson is President of RTP Systems, Inc., a technology and product development company based in Melbourne, FL. Nelson holds a B.S. in Physics from Washington & Lee University, and has participated in more than ten start-up ventures in his career.