Meet our team

Dr. Jiang is an engineering industry executive with a proven track record for solving Fortune 500s' toughest problems. Leaf has won 7 prestigious engineering awards, is a top MIT Ph.D. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science graduate, and has demonstrated success at leading, planning, coordinating, strategizing, and resolving engineering challenges.

Leaf has 5 patents, 32 academic publications, served as an expert witness in an optoelectronics patent case, and is a member of the Eta Kappa Nu Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Phi Beta Kappa Engineering Honor Societies.

Leaf is a recognized expert in lidar systems and has designed and built coherent and direct detection lidars for 12 years while he was at MIT Lincoln Laboratories.

Leaf lives in Concord, MA with his wife Meghan and five children.

Brad is a seasoned business executive and entrepreneur. With seven tech startups under his belt, Brad has a proven track record of taking ideas from inception to product market fit, to exit.

Prior to NODAR, Brad started, ran, and sold Drync, a venture-backed B2B platform for retailers of beverage alcohol. Before Drync, Brad served as VP Product at Where, a mobile-first LBS company that was sold to eBay. Earlier in his career, Brad held roles at Cognio, a full-stack spectrum analysis system that was sold to Cisco, Ucentric Systems (sold to Motorola), and PureSpeech (sold to Philips).

Brad has an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Colorado and an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management.

Brad lives in Lincoln, MA with his wife and 3 kids.

Piotr is a computer vision expert with a passion for creating innovative technology products that make a difference in the lives of millions of people. He completed his MSc in Applied Mathematics at the University of Oxford, where he became fascinated with Computer Vision and decided to pursue a career in it. Piotr went on to earn a PhD from the Technical University of Munich.

Before joining Nodar, Piotr worked at an autonomous driving start-up, gaining valuable experience applying AI and computer vision technology to real-world applications. He has authored numerous scientific publications and holds several patents in the field of multi-camera vision.

When he’s not working, Piotr enjoys playing soccer, sailing, and tinkering with robotic projects.

Amit was previously the Head of Innovation for Koito and their fully owned subsidiary, North American Lighting (NAL) Inc., the world's largest tier1 supplier of exterior automotive lighting, in Silicon Valley.

Amit founded this division within Koito & NAL in 2017 and worked with startups, Tier 1s, and OEMs to find partnerships/investments in adjacent and transformational areas to contribute to vehicle safety through the evolution of lighting.

Prior to this, Amit led NAL's technical marketing department in Michigan. Amit also held positions at Bosch Automotive and Bosch Power Tools, where he was granted four patents.

Amit holds a BS from Lawrence Technological University, a MBA from DePaul University and is completing LEAD from Stanford's Graduate Business School. He enjoys time with his family, playing tennis or badminton.

Before joining NODAR, Weiwei was a Senior Staff Computer Vision Engineer from GE. He had worked in several GE businesses in the past 6 years, building, managing and scaling their Computer Vision and Machine Learning infrastructure and pipelines in the production environment. Prior to his industrial career, Weiwei was a Computer Vision Research Engineer at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore after he received his M.S.E.E. in computer vision from Tsinghua University.

Nikita has a background in mechanical engineering and received his diploma from Volgograd State University, where he worked on vehicle motors.

Before joining NODAR, Nikita worked with a leading lidar manufacturer, specializing in software architecture. His expertise extends to the exciting realms of computer vision, GPUs, and high-performance computing. As an expert in C++, CUDA, and computer graphics, Nikita possesses a unique skill set that has been instrumental in tackling complex challenges.

Hsiou-Yuan possesses a versatile academic background and harbors a keen interest in addressing challenges in mathematics and physics. He successfully completed his doctoral studies in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, with a research emphasis on computational imaging. He also obtained a Master of Science in Physics from National Taiwan University. Prior to his tenure at NODAR, Herbert actively engaged at the intersection of hardware and software, contributing to the development of computational imaging devices, delving into haptics, and conducting research in quantum materials.

Hsiou-Yuan 's diverse academic trajectory provides a unique vantage point when approaching problems, which proves invaluable in the contexts of brainstorming sessions and facilitating effective cross-domain communication.

Vikram earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University where he worked on sensor fusion for intelligent robots.

He received his BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur where he was one of the pioneering members of the institute’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle team.

Vikram enjoys running, biking, swimming, and playing badminton.

Matt is an engineer always on the lookout for hard and interesting problems that push the cutting edge forward.

After a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he was funded by NASA, Matt moved to Europe, where he worked as a researcher for the German Aerospace Center, a professor at the University of Bremen, and then a data scientist at an autonomous driving startup.

Karen spent much of her career leading environmental compliance and sustainability programs in the energy and chemical industries. She brought that experience to MIT, where she helped build and grow successful collaborations between faculty and corporate partners.

Karen holds a Master's degree from Duke University and a BS from Rutgers.

Bernhard has a background in physics and neuromorphic engineering. He received his diploma in Physics from Heidelberg University, Germany, and his PhD in Computer Science from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden for simulating sensory processes in brain-like neural networks.

Before joining NODAR, Bernhard worked as data scientist in autonomous driving and robotics startups, and as post-doc applying simulation and optimization techniques to photoacoustic imaging.

Jose is a seasoned financial and operations leader with a successful history of managing daily operations and delivering on value-added initiatives. As a true Renaissance man, he is passionate about creating efficiencies and streamlining processes.

When he's not immersed in spreadsheets, you can find Jose biking along the Charles River with his wife and daughter.

Sabyasachi is passionate about new technologies and developing low latency solutions around Robotics and autonomous systems. He completed a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi and then worked at a Fortune 500 company for two years. Soon after, he moved to Germany to finish his Master's degree in Computational Mechanics from Technical University of Munich and worked with BMW and the German Aerospace Centre during his studies.

Prior to joining NODAR, Sabyasachi was leading the R&D team at an autonomous driving startup in Berlin.

After 38 years in the commercial vehicle industry in North America and Europe, Roger brings his passion for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and autonomous driving to the board of NODAR. A 35-year veteran of Daimler, he took over as the Daimler Truck North American CEO in 2017, and drove their truck, school bus, and specialty vehicle sales to an industry-leading $20B annually with profitable results in the range of 11-13% return on sales. Under Roger’s leadership, their Freightliner brand brought ADAS to the forefront of heavy duty trucking and was recognized with the “Best Transportation Technology” award at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show for their Level 2 automated driving system.With Daimler, Roger was active in the acquisition, merger or divestiture of over 40 firms across the automotive sector, including firms developing emergency vehicle apparatus, buses, telematics, and most recently, battery electric vehicles and autonomous driving systems.Roger began his career in the Electro-Optics and Data Systems Group of Hughes Aircraft Company, developing technology in the then emerging infrared imaging and laser optics industry. He is a registered professional engineer, earning his bachelor’s degree at Oregon State University.

Carsten is the founder and Managing Partner of Rhapsody Venture Partners, a specialized fund for hard science startups. Rhapsody leads investments in a concentrated portfolio and works alongside founders to bring innovations to market.With a degree from London School of Economics, Carsten worked in strategy consulting before starting his first company at 24 years of age in mobile digital marketing – the company went global and was acquired by Mitsui in 2007. Carsten started investing and acted as a transaction advisor and consultant to a German mid-cap PE shop, before finding himself immersed in the world of deep tech in the Cambridge, MA ecosystem. Following investments in five deep-tech startups, including Manus Bio, Apeel Sciences and LiquiGlide, Carsten founded Rhapsody Venture Partners, bringing on board his partners Jason and Bernie.

Greg joined NEA as Venture Partner in 2010 after more than twenty years of experience in the technology industry and academia. He focuses on early-stage systems, software and deep/hard tech companies.

Prior to NEA, Greg was EVP and CTO of Sun Microsystems, where he guided the company’s $2B R&D portfolio. Before Sun, Greg was an Associate Professor of EECS at MIT, where he worked on massively parallel dataflow computing architectures. He also helped found a number of companies, from video conferencing (PictureTel) to computational fluid dynamics (NASDAQ:EXA), and was an engineer with HP and Honeywell.

Greg is an active advisor for the schools of engineering at UCSD, UC Berkeley and SJSU, and is a trustee for the UCSD Foundation and the Computer History Museum. Passionate about technology and its possibilities, Greg is a relentless advocate for diversity in engineering and a supporter of open development models that stimulate communication, inclusiveness and innovation.

Greg holds an undergraduate degree from UCSD and an S.M. and Ph.D. from MIT. He also a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum.

A graduate of Michigan Technological University with 34 years in the automotive industry, Kurt spent the last 15 years in Europe with his most recent position as Corporate Technology Officer (CTO) reporting to the CEO of Continental Corporation, a 45 bil $ technology supplier. This task of this role is to shape the direction and vision of the future technology and innovation portfolio in order to maintain technological leadership. Tasks included further developing research and development processes, methods, and instruments in relation to embedded software and coordinating the ongoing optimization of global research and development networks. Key innovation targets were pursued by technology trend scouting centered on the future-related fields of artificial intelligence, automation, electrification, connectivity, wireless technologies, cybersecurity, and new mobility services for future products.

Tom joins the NODAR Advisory Staff after a career in advanced driver assistance system development at Ford Motor Company’s Research Labs. At Ford, he was involved in the conception, development and technical management of features that mitigate collisions with vehicles and pedestrians, perform semi-autonomous driving, help steer a trailer while reversing, and use vehicle-to-vehicle communications for situation awareness. Tom has 70+ granted US patents, 20+ conference papers, and five journal papers. He received a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, and MS and PhD. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Tom and Deb reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and enjoy hiking local trails with their dog Tater. When not hiking, Tom rides bicycles on gravel roads and trails.

Klaus has over 35 years experience and broad expertise in the development and application of automotive safety features and functions. Most recently he was BMW’s Vice President of Vehicle Safety. Previously, Klaus was in charge of all BMW’s Advanced Driver Assistance System development activities. He was instrumental in developing world-first head protection side airbag systems at BMW and as Technical director at Autoliv, the global leader in airbags, seatbelts, and safety electronics. Klaus started his career as crash test engineer in the BMW R&D center in Munich and was later responsible for advanced safety engineering. He holds a Diploma in Safety from Wuppertal University in Germany

Klaus continues to work on safety projects as a freelancer and acts as Professor at the Technical Universities of Berlin and Dresden. In his free time he is a passionate mechanic on his vintage cars and motorcycles, and enjoys riding bicycles and motorcycles.

Ingo is a former Volkswagen and Audi executive for autonomous driving. At Volkswagen, Ingo served as Senior Vice President of ADAS/AD at CARIAD, where he was the head of the Bosch/Volkswagen software alliance for SAE level 2+ and level 3 automated driving for electric vehicles.

Ingo previously served as Vice President of Operations at Artemis GmbH (a 100% Audi daughter), where he created new competitive engineering operations that redefined L4 vehicle development. He also founded a Berlin-based company for automotive software in 2006, which he successfully sold in 2016. In October 2023, Ingo joined Einride Autonomous Technologies as Chief Technology Officer.

Ingo studied computer science and holds a PhD in automotive software engineering.

Dr. Volker Kaese is the CTO for Products and Production at Indigo Technologies, located in Woburn, MA, USA. Volker was previously the Head of Innovation Management for Products, Germany at AUDI global HQ. At Audi, Volker was responsible for spearheading Audi’s Technology Strategy and innovation culture, steering pre-development portfolio & activities, road mapping technologies for car projects, and scouting global technology. He was the project lead for concept cars to showcase Audi’s vision of future cars on motor shows, acquiring public funding from federal governments and the European Commission and setting up the method and lead for the VW group roadmapping of predevelopment, with all brands in one database.

Prior to Audi, Volker spent 20 years at VW Group with the thrilling start as Specialist for the 1-Liter-car project 2002 and project lead for a superlight vehicle body with less than 100 kg. With positions as Innovation Manager of Technical Development, Technical Assistant to the CEO, Global Head of Materials Labs, QA in development and preseries for the first VW battery systems, it was the responsibility for the first hybrid car in the VW group that became the light house of his VW career. The XL1 showed a fuel consumption of 307 MPG and was the root for the volume models as VW eUP or VW eGOLF.

Kirk has over 30 years experience in Automotive Tier 1 supply with roles as Program Manager, Plant Manager, Director of Accounting/ Purchasing/ HR, Vice President, and President. In these roles, Kirk routinely interacted with Automotive OEM Purchasing Executives to ensure high levels of customer satisfaction.

Kirk grew an automotive exterior lighting supplier from $800M to $1.4B over a six-year period as president and has managed cost reduction activities to 15% YOY profit improvement through expense reductions and labor efficiency measures.

Kirk's international experience includes working cross-culturally with Japanese and German parent companies to achieve operational and financial goals. He has also managed the process for site selection and production launch for new facilities in the U.S. and Mexico.

Jason is an automotive innovation expert and investor who has been immersed in the disruptive transportation startup scene in Silicon Valley. Previously, as the founder and managing director of HELLA Ventures, he managed deal flow that led to over a dozen investments and strategic partnerships with startup companies in the areas of autonomous driving, electrification, connected car, and lighting technologies.

In addition, Jason spent 15 years building high-performance engineering teams for both the automotive and Internet-technology industries in an R&D capacity. He was a member of the launch teams for six startups in the corporate world and in pure startup environments.

Through his firm Bishop Consulting, Mr. Bishop provides strategy and partnership development in the domain of intelligent, connected, and automated vehicles, advising automotive manufacturers, suppliers, and tech firms. Current clients include Aeye, Outrider, NODAR, Peloton Technology, Plus.ai, Robotic Research, SteerTech, Transurban, and Rijkswaterstaat. BC advises government agencies around the world as well. Mr. Bishop serves as 2nd Vice Chair of the American Trucking Association’s Automated and Electric Truck Study Group, and is founder and chair of the International Task Force on Vehicle Highway Automation, which recently held its 22nd Annual Meeting.

Prior to establishing Bishop Consulting in 1997, Mr. Bishop was Program Manager for Vehicle-Highway Automation at the USDOT Federal Highway Administration. Mr. Bishop holds engineering degrees from Auburn University and Johns Hopkins University, plus an M.A. Transformational Leadership and Social Change from Tai-Sophia Institute.