Daniel Lee did his postdoctoral studies at Stanford University, has a PhD in molecular engineering from the University of Washington, and a BS in chemistry from Cornell University. His work focuses on the syntheses and applications of new polymer materials and reflects his aspirations to use technology to unlock new fields of engineering. Before his PhD, Daniel worked as a member of the enhanced problem-solving team at Shell Chemical LP doing root cause analyses for large reliability failures. Daniel co-founded Perseus Materials, Inc. with John Feist in 2022 and currently serves as CEO.
Represented Organization
Perseus Materials
Key Innovation
Perseus develops innovative chemistries that defy the fundamental limitations that exist in FRP manufacturing today.
Perseus Materials is a seed-stage company revolutionizing the manufacturing of oversize high-performance fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRPs) to displace steel and aluminum in many infrastructure applications. Perseus innovates resin process chemistry and adapts them into new, efficient, manufacturing methods for oversize FRPs. Perseus’ processes allow manufacturers to build faster, cheaper, and anywhere, even on-site.
We will focus on wind turbine blades and later expand to other oversize infrastructure parts like bridges, long-term storage tanks, marine vessels, and wastewater digesters. Growth of the wind energy market is throttled by slow turbine blade production, challenging offshore blade installation, limited blade lifetimes, and the emerging problem of blade disposal. With Perseus, our customers will produce FRP wind turbine blades faster, cheaper, and more reliably. Additionally, Perseus’ blades are built with end-of-life solutions in mind: the blades can be recycled with existing and new processes.
ORNL Principal Investigator
- Vlastimil Kunc - Section Head, Composites Science and Technology, Manufacturing Services Division, Energy Science and Technology Directorate