Jack West (inventor)
Jack West is CTO of Ojjo[1] and Principal Inventor at Glissphonic. He was, until February 2017, the CTO of Zep Solar, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting and grounding equipment based in San Rafael, California. West is also an inventor, entrepreneur, and musician. He is most known for inventing rail-free mounting technology and leading Zep Solar's commercialization of that technology.[2] Zep Solar was acquired by SolarCity in 2013,[3] and SolarCity was acquired by Tesla, Inc. in 2016.[4] West founded Zep Solar in 2009 along with Christina Manansala and Daniel Flanigan[5] and helped to grow the company into the market leader in residential solar mounting equipment.[6] In 2014, one in three residential solar systems installed in the United States contained Zep Solar technology.[3] While at SolarCity, and subsequently at Tesla, West led the development of the product that became known as the Tesla Solar Roof.[7] West also invented a new type of pick for guitar, known as a fingernail pick, which is currently being manufactured and sold by Tiptonic.
History[edit]
In the early '90s, prior to founding Zep Solar, West launched the photovoltaic division of Light Energy Systems, a PV design and contracting firm that designed and installed the San Francisco Bay Area's first grid-tied PV system[8] The company was later acquired by Acro.[9] In 2000, West and Manansala co-founded High Sun Engineering, one of the first engineering consultancies focused on PV system design.[citation needed] West was inspired as a college student to end reliance on fossil fuels and served in 1990 as co-director of the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, a student-run sustainability organization at Humboldt State University.[citation needed]
Music career[edit]
West is also an accomplished jazz guitarist[10], having released five albums with his band Jack West & Curvature and one solo album.[11] Acoustic Guitar Magazine awarded Jack West's fourth album, As We Know It, top honors in its self-released CD competition in 2000.[12] West's music is frequently used as segue music for NPR programming[13] and he was a winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest in 2004 for his composition, “This Life May be Monitored for Quality Assurance”.[14]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Zep founder Jack West returns with 'the future of solar foundations'". pv-magazine-usa.com.
- ↑ "Zep Solar's Installation Hardware Goes Rail-Free". greentechmedia.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "SolarCity Acquires Zep Solar for $158 Million". greentechmedia.com.
- ↑ "It's official: Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity has closed". www.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ↑ "ZEPHYR - Bureau van Dijk". bvdinfo.com.
- ↑ Tyler Crowe (22 December 2013). "SolarCity's Greatest Move Was the One You Didn't Hear About". fool.com.
- ↑ "Inside "Steel Pulse," The Project That Became Elon Musk's Solar Roof". www.fastcompany.com. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ↑ "Products & Services for Renewable or Alternate Energy". discoversolarenergy.com. 6 July 2020.
- ↑ Robert van de Walle. "Acro Energy". lightenergysystems.blogspot.com.
- ↑ "Jack West Press/Reviews". aheadbehind.com.
- ↑ "Jack West @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz.
- ↑ Prestianni, Sam. "Hear This". SF Weekly. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ↑ "All Things Considered for November 25, 2011". NPR.org. 25 November 2011.
- ↑ "John Lennon Songwriting Contest". jlsc.com. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
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