Radiant Futures - Advisory Board Members

The Radiant Futures advisory board is built upon diverse entrepreneurial journeys and experiences. There is no one right path for everyone and we represent the reality that entrepreneurial paths are non-linear, including both starting and ending in different places. There is no one right answer!

The Radiant Future advisory board members are:

• Chairperson - Craig Vodnik - NPRE ‘92 - Successful Entrepreneur and Tech Founder with NPRE Background - Craig started a global e-commerce business with colleagues in Germany. He bootstrapped the business from day one, growing the business for sixteen years culminating in a sale to private equity in 2021. Craig is an adjunct professor in TEC, an advisor to startups and an angel investor. 
• Industry Entrepreneur - Brian Jurczyk - NPRE PhD ‘01, MBA '01 - Brian is CEO and co-founder of Starfire Industries, a leading provider of ultra-compact particle accelerators. He lives in Champaign and is an adjunct professor in NPRE, a mentor to students and an angel investor. 
• Industry Expert - Peter Fiflis - NPRE PhD ‘16 - Peter is CTO and the first employee at Tovala. After participating in the Cozad New Venture Competition, he met the Tovala founder. Peter is excited to solve business problems and share his journey from NPRE student to entrepreneur. 
• Government Funding Expert - Jen Schafer - Jen is a Radiochemistry professor who has led or contributed to projects securing over $35M in funding from DOE, DOD, and DHS, and recently completed a five-year tenure as a Program Director and Associate Director of Technology at DOE's ARPA-E. 
• Student Ambassador - Arnav Goyal - BS NPRE ‘27 (expected) - Arnav is a rising senior studying NPRE doing research in plasma-material interaction. He is also a student in the Hoeft T&M Program, which creates cross-disciplinary leaders between business and engineering. He is also President of the UIUC ANS section. 
• Faculty Liaison - R. Mohan Sankaran - Mohan is Associate Head for Graduate Programs and Donald Biggar Willett Professor in NPRE, providing oversight of this board to the department. He is the principal investigator of the Synthesis, Plasma, Energy, Conversion Lab (SPEC Lab).