Fast 15: Corey Thompson

Corey Thompson didn’t want to see his doctorate research on solar technology ride off into the sunset.

So, he used it to start a business.

Thompson and three other partners founded the company in March 2014. He and his team have been perfecting a nanoparticle coating to make solar panels more efficient.

Existing panels reflect about 4 percent of light, instead of capturing it for electricity. But the coating acts as a bridge for light that would otherwise be reflected away and lost.

The coating can be used for glass or plastics and is anti-reflective, anti-fog and self-cleaning.

Thompson started work on the nanoparticle coating in 2012 and filed for a product patent in 2013.

Since January 2015, WattGlass has received nearly $1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation to take the coating from concept to prototype.

Initially, the glass was coated by hand, but he and his team have built a motorized arm to automate the process. It reduced the coating time from four hours to one minute.

Even though the company’s focus is on solar technology, the coating could also be used for vehicles, eyeglasses, LED lighting and smartphones.

The goal is to “roll it out into as many markets as we can,” Thompson said.

He’s reached out to some of the largest solar and glass manufacturers in the world, including companies in China and the United States.

In April, he visited U.S. Department of Energy officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss plans for a 1-megawatt solar plant. He’s seeking a federal grant to build the $800,000 plant at the University of Arkansas as a test site and to provide electricity for several buildings on campus.

Thompson, a Pittsburg, Texas, native, received three degrees in nine years from the UA. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in microelectronics and photonics.

He completed his doctorate in August 2014.

In his free time, he has helped youth in area schools develop business plans for competitions and has spoken to UA students on entrepreneurship.

He enjoys hunting, fishing, being outdoors and spending time with his family. He and his wife have been married for nearly nine years and have two children, Benjamin, 6 weeks old, and Madelyn, 2.