Dr. Ben Gaddy

As Chief Technology Officer and Director of Investments, Ben helps CET portfolio companies bring their technology to market. He also works with established corporations to source new clean energy technology from startups, universities, and national labs.

After finishing his PhD in Materials Science, Ben was awarded the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship in the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative, the Department of Energy’s manufacturing think tank. There, he researched the challenges faced by cleantech startups in scaling new innovations to manufacturing. Before beginning his PhD, Ben worked at the US Patent and Trademark Office where he reviewed patent applications for next generation speech recognition technologies.

As an undergraduate Park Scholar studying Electrical Engineering at NC State, he researched a retinal prosthesis to treat degenerative blindness. He also helped found the Krispy Kreme Challenge, a charity footrace/doughnut-eating contest that has been featured in several national news outlets. After winning the first-ever running of the race, he helped grow the event into a charity event that now, in its 11th year, attracts over 5000 competitors annually and has raised nearly $1,000,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. He has been interviewed by ESPN (link to video)and public radio (link to audio) about the event.

Ben was the captain of NC State’s club rowing team, and has coached high school and college crew. In his free time he enjoys the outdoors, photography, and playing Appalachian and Swedish folk music on the cello.