Wil Agatstein

Wil Agatstein is the executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and a visiting assistant professor at the University of California, Davis, and a member of NIREC’s TCAB.

As executive director, he is building the center’s networks and strengthening its focus on building sustainable businesses that move science out of the lab and into the world. In the classroom, Wil strives to create responsible international business leadership through the international study trip and corporate social responsibility classes he leads.

From his journeys through the developing world, Wil has come to believe in the power of technology to make the world a better place through economic development, education and helping people understand their culture in the context of modernity. He is a member of the board of Inveneo, a nonprofit that, along with its in-country partners, designs and delivers highly sustainable and affordable ICT solutions for organizations that provide vital services—education, healthcare, economic development—in rural and under-served areas in the developing world connect those who need it the most.

Wil has close to three decades of global experience in the competitive high-tech arena. Prior to joining UC Davis in 2008, he served as vice president at Intel and was the head of Intel's Emerging Markets Group. During his 27 years at Intel, Wil established a proven track record of production product innovation, including the start-up of Intel's chip design center in Malaysia and the creation of Product Definition Centers in Cairo, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Bangalore. He is the creator and father of the Intel Powered classmate PC (aka: the $100 laptop), a small, rugged, personalized laptop for children in the developing world.

Wil graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in material science from Rice University. He holds several patents for advances in voltage regulation for microprocessors and integrated circuit packages.

Technology Commercialization Advisory Board

  • Jason Geddes, PhD
    Environmental Services Administrator, City of Reno, NIREC Trustee & TCAB Chair
  • Wil Agatstein
    Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship, and Visiting Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis
  • Jim Davis
    President, Chevron Energy Solutions
  • Oliver Hemmers, PhD
    Executive Director, Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies & Research Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Kent Hoekman, PhD
    Research Professor, Division of Atmospheric Sciences, DRI
  • Travis Johnson, P.E.
    Manager, Substation Construction & Maintenance, NV Energy
  • Manoranjan Misra, PhD
    Director, Renewable Energy Center and Professor, Materials Engineering Division, University of Nevada, Reno
  • Lou Peoples
    Former Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO, Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc
  • Marc Wiseman, PhD
    Vice President, Clean and Advanced Technology, Ricardo US