Solar power equipment manufacturer PV Powered Inc., Bend, Ore., has appointed Michael Fife, Ph.D., to the new position of director of reliability. He brings more than 12 years of experience in technology development and failure analysis to the company, and he will be instrumental in PV Powered's program to deliver the first inverter with a 20-year operating life.
Most recently, Fife was managing engineer at Exponent Inc. (formerly Failure Analysis Associates) of Menlo Park, Calif., an engineering consulting firm specializing in solving engineering problems for Fortune 500 companies, public utilities, insurers, industry groups and government agencies. Prior to joining Exponent, he led technical activities at the Air Force Research Laboratory Electric Propulsion Group, where he oversaw the design, development, and qualification testing of electric propulsion systems for Air Force space missions, including the development and qualification testing of a 4.5 kW electric space thruster system and its associated power electronics.
