Meet Our Team
James Kaschmitter
Founder/CEO and Senior Battery Specialist at SpectraPower, LLC
He has more than 30 years of experience in the battery industry. Jim and his team developed some of the first Li-ion cells in the U.S. and invented the carbon aerogel supercapacitor. They started PolyStor Corporation in 1993 with a grant from President Clinton’s TRP program. In 2002 Jim founded UltraCell Corporation to commercialize a unique Reformed Methanol Micro Fuel Cell. UltraCell was acquired by Brentronics and continues to supply these fuel cells to the U.S. military. Jim has a M.S.E.E. degree from Stanford University.
Jim founded SpectraPower in 2012.
Steve Pierce
CTO and Senior Battery Engineer at SpectraPower, LLC
Steve's previous experience includes COO & VP of Operations, Engineering, and Manufacturing for various battery start-up companies including PolyStor, EnerDel, UltraCell, PolyStor Energy, Enevate Corporation, and Natron Energy. Steve brings over 22 years’ experience in various battery and energy technologies including lithium ion, lithium metal, silicon anodes, sodium ion, high voltage cathodes, and advanced separators. Steve has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois.
Aubert Demaray
Director of Operations at SpectraPower, LLC.
Aubert manages operations at SpectraPower, LLC and is responsible for laboratory oversight, cell production and test, customer support, and project management. Aubert applied for, received, and currently manages SpectraPower's efforts on the DOE grant "An Extreme Fast Charging Li-ion Cell Using Advanced Electrolyte" along with Stanford University and SLAC. In 2019 Aubert applied for and recently received the "Advanced Manufacturing of Cathode Materials for Lithium-ion Battery" DOE grant which starts in 2020. Prior to joining SpectraPower Aubert worked in operations for a number of startups and research companies performing R&D into energy generation, conversion, transmission, and storage where he participated in grant applications, patent portfolio development, and managed large multi-partner collaborative projects. In 2013, while at Antropy Technology (a thin film Intellectual Property company), he applied for, received, and managed a DOE ARPAE grant to develop a fiber coupler for long distance energy transmission in partnership with the University of California, Santa Cruz. Upon completion of the grant he also led the commercialization efforts of the technology with Abengoa Solar.
Aubert holds a bachelors in quantitative economics and analysis from U.C.San Diego. In his spare time he enjoys traveling with his wife, developing & playing games with friends, woodworking, and is always happy to talk about his latest cider brewing project.
Phoebe Bisnoff
Battery Engineer | SpectraPower LLC
Prior to joining SpectraPower, Phoebe was a researcher at the Conte National Center for Polymer Research at UMass Amherst on novel polymer synthesis for electrochemical applications. In 2016, Phoebe worked with Pantheon Enterprises on environmentally-friendly and uv-curable polymer coatings. Additionally she is a regular volunteer as a social media manager with Out in STEM, an organization for LGBTQ students and professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Phoebe holds a bachelors in chemical engineering from UMass Amherst. In her free time, Phoebe enjoys surfing, cooking, and travelling.