TJ Rodgers, PhD
Thurman Rodgers founded Cypress Semiconductor Corporation in 1982 and served as the president, CEO and member of the board of directors until April 2016.
From June 2004 through December 2012, Thurman was a member of the board of trustees of Dartmouth College, his alma mater. From May 2002 to May 2011, he served as a member of the board of directors of SunPower Corporation.
In addition to serving on Enphase Energy’s board of directors, he is presently a member of the board of directors of Enovix Corporation (lithium ion batteries), Solaria Corporation (advanced solar energy products) and WaterBit, Inc. (IoT-based watering). He holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and chemistry from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. At Stanford, Thurman invented, developed and patented VMOS technology.
Graduate Studies
Undergraduate Studies
Awards
1986, Entrepreneur of the Year by City of Santa Clara, California
1988, ENCORE (Entrepreneurial Company of the Year) Award from the Stanford University Business School
1996, CEO of the year” – Financial World
1997, Outstanding Individual Entrepreneurship Award from the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
2000, Award from the Healing Institute for his support of the Carver Scholars Program
2001, Cited as one of the “100 People Who Changed Our World.” by Upside
2001, Silicon Valley Capitalism Award for “exemplifying the virtues of capitalism and defending capitalism with ethical principles in the media.”
2001, Angel Award by the International Angel Investors organization for his venture-capital activities supporting the semiconductor industry
2001, Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Smith Center for Private Enterprise Studies at California State University, Hayward
2002, “Top 100 Chief Executives” by Chief Executive
2005, Inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame.
2006, Honored with a Fellow Award from the International Engineering Consortium.
2009, Spirit of Ireland Award