Bending Physics: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Make the World’s First Commercially Viable Electrostatic Motors
Join C-Motive cofounder and UW-Madison alumnus Justin Reed (MSECE’07, PhDECE’14) as he walks
through the evolution of C-Motive, its technology, and his personal experiences of launching a deeptech
startup in Madison. Bring a friend and plenty of questions – the more the better! Ian’s Pizza will be served.
November 10, 2023
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12:00 PM
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1:00 PM
Location: Cheney Room, 1413 Engineering Hall
Abstract: Electric motors are the unsung heroes of our age. Often hidden and rarely celebrated, they provide us
with electricity and motion, literally making modern life possible. Their existence is often attributed to
the likes of Edison or Tesla for their pioneering work in electromagnetics. But over one century earlier,
in 1748, Benjamin Franklin invented the first electric motor – based on electrostatics. Yet despite many
pursuits by academics and businesses since, electrostatic motors have been relegated to ‘science fair’
demonstrations and experiments for their inferior performance.
Until now. In 2012 C-Motive Technologies was spun out of UW–Madison to develop the world’s first
commercially viable electrostatic motors. Over the past decade, the deeptech startup, in conjunction
with efforts at UW-Madison, have applied basic electrostatic principles in increasing sophistication and
complexity to produce the most unique electric motors on the planet. These motors deliver >90%
system-level energy efficiency while eliminating all rare earth materials and 99% of the typical copper.
Reed will walk through the evolution of C-Motive, its technology, and his personal experiences of launching a deeptech startup in Madison.
Justin Reed
Speaker Bio: Justin Reed is a cofounder of C-Motive, an inventor of its core technology and patents, and a facilitator of guidance for the company’s engineering efforts through development of radically new electrostatic motor technology. This includes all aspects of the product technology, including interfacing with UW–Madison ECE Associate Professor Ludois’ research team as well as prospective customers for research
and product development efforts.
Reed cofounded C-Motive Technologies in 2012 as a Ph.D. student and earned his Ph.D. two years later as part of the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) at UW–Madison. Justin is a recognized authority in power engineering, power electronics, motor design, motor control, and motor drive system modeling. He has co-authored 16 technical papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and is an inventor on over 20 different patents.
Reed holds a BS of electrical engineering from the University of Washington with MS and Ph.D. earned at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.