The Power of Family

Alumni Changemakers: Adam Pitel '04 and Dr. Grant Pitel '99

 

For brothers Adam Pitel ’04 and Dr. Grant Pitel ’99 going into the family business was inevitable. Their father, Dr. Ira J. Pitel, built Magna-Power Electronics (MPE) from the ground up, starting in the family basement after years working at Bell Labs. From the time they were teenagers, the brothers were part of MPE, spending time at the factory over summers and during school breaks, developing a strong work ethic and learning about the manufacturing industry. 

Today, Adam serves as CEO and Grant as CTO of MPE, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of programmable DC power supplies used across a remarkable range of applications, from Tesla’s electric vehicle production lines, to defense systems that power lasers capable of shooting down drones, to particle accelerators at Los Alamos National Labs. Even the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios runs on Magna-Power technology, using ultra-capacitors in place of a traditional roller coaster mechanism. With over 250,000 different configurations of programmable power supplies and a workforce of about 110 people — all based in the United States at a time when most competitors have moved production overseas — the company is a testament to what their father built and what the brothers have grown. 

Adam and Grant both credit Newark Academy with instilling in them a work ethic that has made their success possible. Being surrounded by driven, academically serious peers at NA helped them excel — as did their teachers. “Starting at Newark Academy was a difficult transition for me,” shares Adam. “Ms. Tavares had my back and helped me through some of the difficulties I was having, and I went on to become an honor student.” For Grant, it was Dr. Bartol who stands out in his memory. “He really made physics fun and to this day I just love physics,” Grant says.

A lot of what I do today is being multi-disciplined in physics. [Dr. Bartol] put me under his wing and it meant a lot, and I still think about him today. He was instrumental in many ways.”Dr. Grant Pitel '99

What motivates these brothers now is the impact of the work itself. Adam finds purpose in knowing that their products are used in applications that drive real change — in clean energy, in scientific research, in the future of transportation. Grant enjoys the daily problem-solving and the challenge of building first-time product configurations under tight deadlines. For these two brothers, keeping the world in motion is all in a day’s work and all in the family.