Strategic Advisors

Ushakar Jha is a licensed civil engineer with over two decades of experience in the field of hydropower and pump storage projects. His expertise includes design engineering, detailed project planning, project cost estimation, power production modeling, and project management. Ushakar has spent the last decade advancing hydro projects at t

Ushakar Jha is a licensed civil engineer with over two decades of experience in the field of hydropower and pump storage projects. His expertise includes design engineering, detailed project planning, project cost estimation, power production modeling, and project management. Ushakar has spent the last decade advancing hydro projects at the leading hydropower development company Rye Development. Prior to this, he worked at the globally renowned firm, SNC Lavalin. Currently, as the Vice President of Project Engineering at Rye, Ushakar is responsible for overseeing all technical dimensions of the projects. He manages a portfolio of 18 active FERC licensed new hydropower projects, which vary in capacity from 5 MW to 50 MW. Additionally, he supervises 8 new pumped storage projects, each with a capacity ranging between 250 MW to 1200 MW. 

Ushakar is experienced in coordinating multidisciplinary teams, ensuring smooth interactions between subconsultants, equipment providers, contractors, and various stakeholders. He is also the principal investigator for various initiatives with National Labs such as Oak Ridge, NREL, Argonne, and PNNL labs. Ushakar is also selected as Industry Mentor for the Department of Energy I-Corps Program, a 10-week entrepreneurial development program for DOE national lab researchers. He is also an active participant and contributor to the Department of Energy’s HydroWIRES (Water Innovation for a Resilient Electric System) initiative. Ushakar has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering and an MBA from the Hult International Business School.

Benjamin Vaughan is a registered Patent Attorney with a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry. His patent practice focuses on chemical and pharmaceutical inventions, and he has specialized knowledge related to industrial process chemistry and alternative energy technologies.

Ben works collaboratively with his clients, including large and small com

Benjamin Vaughan is a registered Patent Attorney with a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry. His patent practice focuses on chemical and pharmaceutical inventions, and he has specialized knowledge related to industrial process chemistry and alternative energy technologies.

Ben works collaboratively with his clients, including large and small companies, University clients, and individual inventors, on patent preparation, prosecution, and lifecycle management to protect their inventions. He focuses his practice in four key areas:
 

1. Pharmaceuticals and Biotech, including  pharmaceutical development, second generation filings (i.e., methods of treatment, formulations, salt and crystal forms, prodrugs, and combination therapies), and late-stage prosecution strategies to optimize patent term and protect against potential infringers/generic filers; 
2. Alternative Therapeutics, including nutraceuticals, food products, and Cannabis;
3. Polymers and Commodity Chemicals, including plastics, natural and artificial rubbers, hydrogels, agrochemicals, and catalysts and processes for their production; and
4. Fuels and Alternative Energy, including petrochemicals, natural gas, petroleum derivatives, biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, fuel cells, batteries, and methods/processes for their production, purification, and optimization.

Ben is actively involved in DE&I work. He is a member of Foley Hoag's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, a member and former co-chair of Foley Hoag's PRISM (LGBTQ) Affinity Group, Chair of the Legal Advisory Council for LGBT+VC, and an active member of a number of LGBTQ Bar Associations.

Ben’s doctoral studies focused on the development of transition-metal catalysts for the conversion of natural gas and petrochemicals to higher-value commodity chemicals, such as plastics and liquid fuels in the laboratory of Professor T. Brent Gunnoe at the University of Virginia. Ben’s undergraduate research focused on the synthesis and characterization of phosphorus- and silicon-containing polymers and oligomers using early-metal catalysts in the laboratory of Professor Rory Waterman at the University of Vermont.