Joel Jean is a co-founder and CEO of Swift Solar, a U.S. startup developing high-efficiency, lightweight, and flexible perovskite photovoltaics. Joel previously served as the founding executive director of the Tata-MIT GridEdge Solar research program, focusing on scale-up of new solar photovoltaic technologies for India and other developing countries. As a researcher and NSF Fellow at MIT, he developed ultra-lightweight and flexible solar cells that were recognized by the 2017 Katerva Award, and he was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Fellow in Energy. He co-authored the MIT Future of Solar Energy Study and has worked extensively on emerging PV materials and devices, techno-economic analysis, and energy and climate policy. Joel holds a PhD and SM in electrical engineering from MIT and a BS with distinction from Stanford University.
