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way we live. Examples include the personal computer, the smartphone, email and social net- working. "The projects I decide to work on have to be disruptive," he says, "or I'm not interested." These days, he's interested in a breakthrough oven technology. The device works by quickly discharging high current from an energy storage device—like filling a reservoir with a garden hose and emptying it with a fire hose. Its per- formance is astonishing. "It could make toast in 10 seconds, cook bacon in 20 seconds, a pizza in one minute and hot water instantly," De Luca says. "Your kitchen would be run on very high— but very safe—power. I'm talking thousands of amps but low voltage, 10 times the power you get from your wall outlet. It's also efficient because there's no preheating involved." The technology has applications outside the kitchen. De Luca Oven Technologies (DOT) recently inked a joint venture agreement with Rapid Radiant Technologies of Groton, Connecticut, to develop the oven for high speed curing of adhe- sives, phenolic resins, paints and coatings. A visit to De Luca's workshop affords an up- close look at how a new technology is brought to market. Just past the thin veneer of a sleekly designed office space up front, the real business end is revealed: a warehouse-sized lab filled with all manner of tools, computers, arcane machines and devices. Occasional flames, explosions and bright flashes of light erupt—all part of the process. Lest one think that inventing is a soli- tary endeavor, it's worth noting that America's most famous inventor, Thomas Edison, employed more than 200 machinists, scientists, craftsmen and laborers at his West Orange, New Jersey, laboratory. While not on that scale, DOT is a team of 15 people focused on De Luca's vision. In the lab, they include a pair each of PhDs, mechanical engineers and electrical engineers plus four technicians. "Inventing is a people business," DeLuca says, "I have to be connected to our investors, business leaders, customers, vendors, sales and marketing teams, legal and patent experts, our engineering and science partners, my team, and the community." Currently, De Luca's oven technology is in a later stage of development; to date, his team has been working on it for 8 years. There are new ideas, new "better ways" occurring to him con- stantly. He's in no hurry. "All of my projects have been 10 to 15 years ahead of the market," he says. "I believe that if a person can imagine it, it will happen," he says. For more info on De Luca Oven Technologies, visit www.delucaoventechnologies.com. Dr. Koichi Sato diagnoses the circuit board of a new technology under development. 176 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 Part of De Luca Oven Technologies' team, at the firm's Sand City facility: Leo Cachu, Technician; Greg Weisenfeld, Mechanical Engineer; Andrew Perkins, Mechanical Engineer; Nicholas De Luca, Inventor; Dr. Koichi Sato, Computer Scientist; Kyle Inouye, Quality Assurance.