Establish the technical strategy of the company in collaboration with the CEO, ensure the necessary resources are available for executing the strategy, and serve as supervisor over technical team performance.

I lead research that is solving environmental problems that affect human health. As head of the Technology Development Group, I manage contract research activities and am responsible for securing research funding and developing relevant technologies for commercialization.For the past few years, my work has focused on developing and commercializing the RemRx™ controlled release polymer oxidants that are currently being deployed to clean up contaminated groundwater across the U.S. My team transitioned the CRP product from the lab to the first commercial sale in 2020, established the RemRx brand, and expanded the platform to include multiple products to meet customer needs. I oversaw each stage of the sales cycle and worked with customers, state regulatory agencies, and contractors.I'm working on several additional new technologies, including the next generation of RemRx, a novel injectable form of the product designed for treating chlorinated solvents trapped in low permeability zones. I'm also collaborating with a leading research institution on an exciting new treatment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which is a major groundwater pollutant both worldwide and closer to home in central North Carolina.I've also secured over $3 million in non-dilutive contract funding from multiple federal and state funding sources, as well as commercial contracts.R&D — with a focus on development — continues to be my priority, and I've served as principal investigator on several phase I and phase II SBIR/STTR programs.I joined Triad Growth Partners + AxNano as a research scientist in 2015. I was later promoted to principal investigator in 2017 and then chief scientist in 2019.

I have the pleasure of co-teaching Duke's first ever Design Climate course. In this project-based course, we teach the fundamentals of design thinking with essential concepts for climate change innovation such as environmental justice, life cycle assessments, and systems thinking. Design Climate is a joint program of Pratt Engineering and Nicholas School for the Environment.

New Ventures Clinic: ClimateCoach student teams towards developing a strategy for a new venture in the areas of Energy Transformation, Climate Resilience, Climate and Data, and Carbon Sequestration. We perform market analysis and choose the target customer, develop a business model, create an approach to developing the venture with a view to sustainability and develop a roadmap for execution in the short term.

This was my first opportunity to work in the environmental space, and seeing the actual impact of large-scale pollution on human health was an eye-opening experience. During this time, I decided to focus my career on finding ways to start addressing growing environmental problems.I supported research for the Superfund Research Program under Dr. Mark Wiesner, and our research focused on synthesis and evaluation of zerovalent iron nanoparticles for soil and water remediation. I designed nanoscale zerovalent iron (NZVI)-based remediation strategies and method development for assessing the effect of NZVI on microbial communities. I represented our team and research at national conferences, international collaborator meetings, and external advisory board reviews. I also worked with a team including RTI/Veolia/DoE to evaluate and assess hybrid anaerobic bioreactors for increased methane production and more efficient wastewater treatment.In this post-doctoral role, I learned a great deal about collaboration and how effective you can be when working with a research teams of varied backgrounds. I gained experience working with renowned organizations from academia and industry, as well as governmental agencies.

Under the direction of Professor Mark H. Schoenfisch, my work focused on synthesizing nitric oxide-releasing silica nanoparticles of varied physical and chemical properties to probe effects on drug delivery kinetics, antimicrobial activity, prevention of bacterial adhesion, and inhibition of cancer cell growth.I co-authored a National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal that was selected for funding, and presented research at monthly group meetings, departmental seminars, and national conferences. I also published articles in high-impact journals, including peer review research papers and a highly cited critical review article.Interdisciplinary research collaborations were an important aspect of my work at UNC, and I worked with researchers in the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center, UNC School of Dentistry, and the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute.

In my first year of graduate research, I worked as a teaching assistant and focused on inorganic synthesis. I co-taught a junior/senior-level laboratory class for chemistry majors in the inorganic synthesis lab. In this role, I oversaw laboratory work, reviewed and graded assignments, and both wrote and administered exams.