Robert Sampson Email & Phone Number

Our global population is facing enormous challenges. The current human population is 8 billion and is expected to grow to 9.7 billion by 2050. This increase in population will demand more energy, food, and clean water. The climate emergency is making meeting these challenges difficult. Current forms of energy production must transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable forms of energy to halt rising temperatures. These temperatures are creating extreme weather conditions including prolonged drought, high winds, hail, and tornados. Farmers do not have sufficient water to irrigate their crops, further stressing our food supply. Shortages of energy, food, and water increase their cost which impacts low- and moderate-income households more severely than other segments of the population.SolaRay Farms, Inc. is a community solar development company with a mission of bringing community solar to rural communities, primarily through agrivoltaics, a proven opportunity to open more lands up to solar development while retaining agrarian livelihoods. The combination of community solar and agrivoltaics assists in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, allows a larger segment of the population access to lower cost electricity, reduces the amount of water needed to irrigate crops, protects crops from inclement weather, and preserves farmland for farming.

Tempe, Arizona

The Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies Engineering Research Center (QESST) at Arizona State University is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The center’s focus is to advance photovoltaic science, technology, and education to address one of society’s greatest challenges; transforming the generation of electricity from limited resources to sustainable sources. Photovoltaics (PV) leverages one of the 21st century’s greatest scientific advances, quantum mechanics, to create electricity generation that is fundamentally different than other electricity generation methods because it includes no moving parts, it is highly reliable, and it is highly efficient. In January 2016, Robert Sampson became the Executive Administrative Director of QESST. He is responsible for operations of the research center including facilities, human resources, planning, accounting, purchasing, and grant administration. QESST’s facilities include offices and laboratories on the campus of Arizona State University, ASU’s research park named Macro Technology Works, and eight other partnering universities, three of which are located outside the United States.

Scottsdale, Arizona

Robert (Bob) Sampson joined the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group Venture Catalyst at Arizona State University in May of 2014. As a Venture Manager, he assisted ASU's faculty and staff in creating businesses from their research at the university.

Scottsdale Arizona

Previously, Bob worked for the Arizona State University Foundation Technology Transfer office analyzing university innovations, writing business and marketing plans, and conducting patent research to determine the commercialization viability of innovations.

Phoenix, Arizona Area

As a serial entrepreneur, Bob has started or owned over ten companies. Previously, he was the President and CEO of Sienna Communities, an Arizona real estate development company and one of the Valley’s medium-sized home builders. The company which Bob built from scratch grew to employ 91 workers within 4 profit centers. Other companies that Bob owned included Emerald Lending, a mortgage brokerage company, and Advantage Insurance, an insurance agency that grew to 3 offices and represented over 60 insurance companies.

Professional Science Master'S (Psm), Solar Energy Engineering And Commercialization

Activities and Societies: Attended the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes in Washington, D.C. Met and interacted with the people.

Master'S Of Science - Conditional, Construction Management

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Accounting