Co-Founder / President & CEO

Frank Yang has 20 years of experience bringing buildings and energy-related technologies to market as a company operator. He previously helped found Stion, a domestic solar manufacturer, and oversaw the company’s commercial operations, raising more than $500 million and negotiating a major production and supply partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor.  Frank is also an Executive in Residence and Partner at ADL Ventures, a leading venture development firm whose focus area includes advanced building construction.

Co-Founder / Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Yang is a pioneer in advanced insulation technology with 40+ years of industry experience. He previously served as the Director of R&D at Armstrong World Industries, where he won the first multi-million dollar government grant related to aerogel insulation. He then founded a nanomaterials company, ISTN, which successfully completed over $20 million in corporate and government R&D contracts. With Liatris, Dr. Yang hopes to further catalyze industry funding in the advancement of insulation R&D, leveraging his experience in grant fundraising and technology development.

Director of R&D

Dr. Lu is a polymer scientist and product development engineer with over 30 years of experience developing and scaling up composite building materials for mass production, including insulation, adhesives, ceiling and floor tile. His career includes leadership roles at Ardax, ISTN, and Armstrong/Armacell.

Commercial Operations Manager

A graduate of the George Washington University School of Business, Engels was Liatris’s first full-time business hire and works closely with the product and business development teams to manage its key corporate and government funding partnerships. He is an experienced project manager, working across all active projects at Liatris, both corporate and government.

Product Marketing Advisor

A member of Liatris’s founding team, Fang brings over two decades of experience in product development spanning the solar, water treatment, and semiconductor sectors at companies such as Danaher and VPAC.  She has deep experience in first-of-kind product demonstrations, including the first-ever pilot installs of thin-film solar roofing products at Stion.

Intellectual Property Advisor

A member of Liatris’s founding team, Ogawa is one of the most seasoned IP attorneys in Silicon Valley, having worked with more than 500 emerging technology start-ups along with holding senior roles at Inphi, Khosla Ventures and Townsend.