David Eaglesham is a world-renowned scientist with extensive experience bringing technologies from lab to market. David was the initial CTO at First Solar and was the CEO of Pellion Technologies. He is a former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Passionate about developing technology to drive the energy transition and transform the economy, he has conducted ground-breaking research and shared his knowledge with current and future scientific pioneers. Eaglesham’s academic achievements began as lecturer in the Department of Materials Science at the University of Liverpool, where he became the youngest tenured faculty member in the U.K. He arrived at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, N.J., as a young researcher with a reputation for foresight and innovation. His research teams delved into technologies that would eventually form solid foundations for the future of solar research. In 2002, Eaglesham reported to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as Chief Technologist and Deputy Associate Director of Chemistry and Materials Science. As the head of more than 500 scientists, he formed partnerships with industry and academic institutions, which continued in his position of Director of Advanced Technologies at Applied Materials.

He earned a BS degree in Chemical Physics from Bristol University and also graduated with honors as a doctor of Physics.