Leadership
Dr. John L. Daniels
PI and Project Director
Dr. Rob Cox
Executive Director EPIC
SCRA
Dr. Saffeer Khan
Co-PI and Project Co-Director
Greg Needham
Sr. Executive Director, Office of Research Commercialization & Partnerships
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223
CLEANcarolinas is a Type 1 Developmental Engine funded by the National Science Foundation under a cooperative agreement with the University of North Carolina Charlotte. UNC Charlotte has two major research organizations related to CLEANcarolinas mission. These are the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) and the Urban Institute. EPIC provides innovative solutions for offshore wind turbine blade design, electric grid design and adaptation to increase the supply of renewable energy, and the interconnection of renewable energy to residential, commercial, and industrial customers that wish to benefit from a grid supplying clean, affordable, and reliable electricity. The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute seeks solutions to the complex social, economic and environmental challenges facing Charlotte and surrounding communities in both states by engaging expertise across a diverse set of disciplines and life experiences to curate data, and conduct actionable research and policy analysis that helps make better decisions to the benefit of all.
Laura Peter
Executive Director, Office of Research Commercialization & Partnerships
Jim Gafford
Assistant Director of Research for Power Management
Carolyn Keith
Chief Engagement Officer & Director of Communications
SCRA
Jeffrey Woolard
CLEANcarolinas Project Manager
Company
Copyright © 2023 CLEANcarolinas
Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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Catherine Hayes has over 20 years of international industrial experience, leveraging her engineering education to lead successful teams in Manufacturing Engineering and Operations, Quality Engineering, and Industrial Engineering at Square D, NCR, and Bosch.
Previously as Executive Director of the South Carolina Automotive Council, Catherine championed Industry 4.0 technologies, convened manufacturers to share best practices, and collaborated throughout the Southeast with automotive manufacturers to support the automotive industry and expand foreign direct investment.
Currently as Industry Manager with SCRA, Catherine partners with industry, academic institutions, and technology companies to facilitate technology transfer to industry. She collaborates with state agencies, economic development alliances, and regional partners to support industry growth and to recruit new technology companies to the state.
Recently, Catherine transitioned from the Board to the Executive Director of the Center of Resilience Excellence SC, where CORE SC partners with NASA, federal and state government, industry, academic institutions, and public and private organizations to research, develop, and implement scalable and replicable solutions to resilience challenges.
Catherine serves on the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) Board of Directors, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for the Center for Connected Multi-modal Mobility, the Clemson University Industry Advisory Board for Research Experience for Teachers, and she co-leads the state in the NSF Innovation Engine Type 1 planning grant for clean energy, CLEANcarolinas, a collaboration with NC and SC.
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As President & CEO of SCRA, Bob leads an organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth of academia, entrepreneurship, and industry. The organization’s impact on the state’s economy equaled $1.19 billion in FY23.
Prior to joining SCRA, he worked in various executive roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and affiliated companies. Bob most recently was the Managing Director of Battelle’s subsidiary, 360ip, an international investment, fund management, and commercialization company. Previous assignments included Vice President of Technology Commercialization and Vice President of Environmental Science and Technology at Battelle as well as Director of Technology Commercialization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career with the federal government, holding management positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
His current Board participation includes Central SC Alliance, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, SCbio, SC EPSCoR, SC Council on Economic Education, and South Carolina Research Foundation.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University and a master’s degree (Exxon Graduate Fellow) from George Washington University. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His honors include membership in the Charleston Business Hall of Fame and being named as one of the inaugural recipients of the SC Biz News Icon Honors.
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As President & CEO of SCRA, Bob leads an organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth of academia, entrepreneurship, and industry. The organization’s impact on the state’s economy equaled $1.19 billion in FY23.
Prior to joining SCRA, he worked in various executive roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and affiliated companies. Bob most recently was the Managing Director of Battelle’s subsidiary, 360ip, an international investment, fund management, and commercialization company. Previous assignments included Vice President of Technology Commercialization and Vice President of Environmental Science and Technology at Battelle as well as Director of Technology Commercialization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career with the federal government, holding management positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
His current Board participation includes Central SC Alliance, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, SCbio, SC EPSCoR, SC Council on Economic Education, and South Carolina Research Foundation.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University and a master’s degree (Exxon Graduate Fellow) from George Washington University. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His honors include membership in the Charleston Business Hall of Fame and being named as one of the inaugural recipients of the SC Biz News Icon Honors.
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As President & CEO of SCRA, Bob leads an organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth of academia, entrepreneurship, and industry. The organization’s impact on the state’s economy equaled $1.19 billion in FY23.
Prior to joining SCRA, he worked in various executive roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and affiliated companies. Bob most recently was the Managing Director of Battelle’s subsidiary, 360ip, an international investment, fund management, and commercialization company. Previous assignments included Vice President of Technology Commercialization and Vice President of Environmental Science and Technology at Battelle as well as Director of Technology Commercialization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career with the federal government, holding management positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
His current Board participation includes Central SC Alliance, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, SCbio, SC EPSCoR, SC Council on Economic Education, and South Carolina Research Foundation.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University and a master’s degree (Exxon Graduate Fellow) from George Washington University. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His honors include membership in the Charleston Business Hall of Fame and being named as one of the inaugural recipients of the SC Biz News Icon Honors.
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As President & CEO of SCRA, Bob leads an organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth of academia, entrepreneurship, and industry. The organization’s impact on the state’s economy equaled $1.19 billion in FY23.
Prior to joining SCRA, he worked in various executive roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and affiliated companies. Bob most recently was the Managing Director of Battelle’s subsidiary, 360ip, an international investment, fund management, and commercialization company. Previous assignments included Vice President of Technology Commercialization and Vice President of Environmental Science and Technology at Battelle as well as Director of Technology Commercialization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career with the federal government, holding management positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
His current Board participation includes Central SC Alliance, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, SCbio, SC EPSCoR, SC Council on Economic Education, and South Carolina Research Foundation.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University and a master’s degree (Exxon Graduate Fellow) from George Washington University. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His honors include membership in the Charleston Business Hall of Fame and being named as one of the inaugural recipients of the SC Biz News Icon Honors.
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As President & CEO of SCRA, Bob leads an organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth of academia, entrepreneurship, and industry. The organization’s impact on the state’s economy equaled $1.19 billion in FY23.
Prior to joining SCRA, he worked in various executive roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and affiliated companies. Bob most recently was the Managing Director of Battelle’s subsidiary, 360ip, an international investment, fund management, and commercialization company. Previous assignments included Vice President of Technology Commercialization and Vice President of Environmental Science and Technology at Battelle as well as Director of Technology Commercialization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career with the federal government, holding management positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
His current Board participation includes Central SC Alliance, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, SCbio, SC EPSCoR, SC Council on Economic Education, and South Carolina Research Foundation.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University and a master’s degree (Exxon Graduate Fellow) from George Washington University. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His honors include membership in the Charleston Business Hall of Fame and being named as one of the inaugural recipients of the SC Biz News Icon Honors.
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As President & CEO of SCRA, Bob leads an organization that fuels South Carolina’s innovation economy by accelerating technology-enabled growth of academia, entrepreneurship, and industry. The organization’s impact on the state’s economy equaled $1.19 billion in FY23.
Prior to joining SCRA, he worked in various executive roles with Battelle Memorial Institute and affiliated companies. Bob most recently was the Managing Director of Battelle’s subsidiary, 360ip, an international investment, fund management, and commercialization company. Previous assignments included Vice President of Technology Commercialization and Vice President of Environmental Science and Technology at Battelle as well as Director of Technology Commercialization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He began his career with the federal government, holding management positions at the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
His current Board participation includes Central SC Alliance, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, SCbio, SC EPSCoR, SC Council on Economic Education, and South Carolina Research Foundation.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rutgers University and a master’s degree (Exxon Graduate Fellow) from George Washington University. He also completed the Executive Management Program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His honors include membership in the Charleston Business Hall of Fame and being named as one of the inaugural recipients of the SC Biz News Icon Honors.
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