Arno Allan Penzias

Who is Arno Allan Penzias?

Arno joined NEA in 1997 as a Venture Partner from Bell Labs where he

headed its research organization and served as its Chief Scientist. He

currently focuses on novel ways of addressing the world’senergy needs.

Along-time skeptic

on the commercial viability of "alternative energy" technologies, Arno

now finds his earlier conclusions outdated by the advances made by a

small handful of entrepreneurs, and earnestly hopes to find—and help

finance—more of these opportunities. His present board memberships

include BloomEnergy, Glacier Bay and Konarka. In addition to helping

NEA portfolio companies on an as-needed basis, in areas such as

technology, strategy, and intellectual property, Arno serves on—and

frequently chairs—Technical Advisory Boards for a number of NEA

companies, including: Alien Technology; Hillcrest Communications;

Heliovolt; Konarka; Luxtera; Motion Computing; SolFocus, Spreadtrum,

Telegent Systems; and Teneros;. He has written two books and a number

of articles on modern technology, especially its impact on business and

society. A member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the

National Academy of Engineering, he received a BS from City College of

New York and a PhD from Columbia University. His awards include a

number of honorary degrees, as well as other awards, for his

contributions to science, RD management and public service—most

notably the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in radio astronomy.