Engineer Mujeeb Ijaz was born to Pakistani parents on May 18, 1967, in Radford, Virginia, in the United States. His parents, Dr. Lubna Razia Ijaz and Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz, were both researchers. His mother is a solar physicist who worked with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to promote renewable energy initiatives in Pakistan, while his father is an experimental physicist who has worked as a professor at Virginia Tech. Ijaz finished his undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech in 1990, getting a Bachelor of Science with a specialisation in mechanical engineering. Mansoor Ijaz, the brother of Mujeeb Ijaz, is a venture financier and hedge fund manager who gained fame in 2011 when he published an opinion piece in the Financial Times about his interactions with Husain Haqqani, the Pakistani ambassador to Washington at the time.
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With over 30 years of experience in the development of electric vehicle and battery system technologies, Mujeeb Ijaz is currently working as a battery systems engineer. His professional efforts have focused on increasing the adoption of electric vehicles by lowering the cost, increasing range, and improving battery safety. Ijaz began working for Ford Motor Company in 1992, and he held the position of manager of electric and fuel cell vehicle engineering for the following 15 years. Ijaz directed the work of a group of experts who produced Ford’s lithium-ion plugin hybrid, the Edge HySeries, in the latter half of 2007. Furthermore, he led the Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 Land Speed Record attempt, which set a new world record of 207 mph with a 750 hp hydrogen fuel cell motor.
Ijaz founded the A123 Automotive Solutions Group in 2008, and the business went public in 2010. Ijaz then assumed control of A123 Venture Technologies and saw it through to its founding. Ijaz oversaw the production of racing cars at A123, including the Porsche 919 Hybrid, which won the 24 Hours of LeMans, and Formula 1 cars, as well as vehicles like the Fisker Karma and Chevrolet Spark EV. Innovative components and cells developed by Ijaz enabled the Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet to reach a record-breaking 307.7 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Ijaz has been employed by Apple Inc. since 2014 as a special project engineer. Moreover, Mujeeb Ijaz founded and serves as CEO of ONE (Our Next Energy).
The Michigan-based company Our Next Energy, Inc. (ONE) creates cutting-edge energy storage technologies. The ONE team is focused on developing safer battery chemistries that make use of sustainable raw materials and establish a trustworthy, affordable, and conflict-free supply chain. Late in 2022, ONE started producing Aries, its first product. A new anode-free battery pack named “Gemini” by ONE has also been unveiled; it is intended to reduce cell costs by as much as 50% while providing a driving range of up to 600 miles (965 km). While other battery manufacturers are working on anode free designs, the ONE Gemini battery stands out because it employs cells with two distinct cell chemistries, one for regular driving and the other to increase driving range on longer excursions. As a result, Gemini is among the most significant inventions of the last ten years.
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