Sustainble Pioneer seeks Solitude to Ponder Yet Unimagined Futures!

Ovshinsky retiring from ECD

Posted on 8/23/2007 2:05:48 PM A true Michigan technology pioneer is stepping down from the company he helped create. Rochester Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER) Thursday announced that Stanford R. Ovshinsky, its co-founder, principal inventor, chief scientist and technologist, will retire as an active employee and director of the company effective August 31, 2007. Ovshinsky and his late wife Iris, with whom he co-founded ECD in 1960, developed the science and technology of amorphous and disordered materials, and his pioneering work in the field has enabled commercial products in energy generation. Included: *Thin-film triple-junction photovoltaics and building-integrated photovoltaics *Energy storage, including Ovonic nickel-metal-hydride batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles and consumer applications; and *Information technology, including phase-change optical media and electronic memories. Ovshinsky also developed roll-to-roll continuous manufacturing technology for semiconductors, including photovoltaics and other products. Ovshinsky holds more than 350 United States and foreign patents and is the author of more than 275 scientific papers ranging from neurophysiology to amorphous semiconductors. He has been widely recognized for his important contributions in photovoltaics, the hydrogen economy and in nanoscience and nanostructures. His many awards include the Diesel Gold Medal for Invention from the German Inventors Association, the Coors American Ingenuity Award, the Toyota Award for Advancement, and the 2005 Innovation Award for Energy and the Environment by The Economist. In 1999, he was named a "Hero for the Planet" by Time magazine. Also, Ovshinsky and his late wife were named as Heroes of Chemistry 2000 by the American Chemical Society. "Iris and I started ECD based on our shared vision of using science and technology to solve important societal problems, such as the increasing global demand for energy," Ovshinsky said. "Over the years, many of our ideas have become a reality and are being used by people all over the world. I now want to fully reengage in research and development activities, concentrating on the further development of amorphous and disordered materials and future advances in the energy and information fields. I am proud of what ECD has accomplished and expect the company to continue to grow and prosper in the years ahead." Said Bob Stempel, ECD chairman and CEO: "Words cannot do justice to the lasting work of Stan and Iris that resulted in ECD's growth over these many years. Stan's passion for the work created an environment of high energy and full dedication across the organization. Under his leadership and tutelage, hundreds of employees have learned the science and technology of amorphous and disordered materials and contributed to ECD's many successes. All of us at ECD, and his many friends and colleagues the world over, wish Stan the very best as he continues his work." Ovshinsky intends to maintain an office in the metro Detroit area and will continue to be available to ECD to advise on technical and scientific matters. He also intends to continue to advise Ovonyx Inc. on phase change memory technology. More about the company he built at www.ovonic.com.