Capro-X is developing a sustainable biotechnology, founded with the goal of increasing the sustainability of the dairy industry. Using the WheyAway system, Capro-X focuses on turning the problematic acid whey byproduct from Greek yogurt into chemicals that are direct alternatives to chemicals sourced from unsustainable palm oil.

I am exploring the potential to commercialize a fermentation platform developed in my lab (Angenent Lab) that treats wastewater from the food and beverage industry and produces a bio-oil that is 6- and 8-carbons long.If this platform is interesting to you, feel free to reach out to me; I’d love to learn about your needs!

– Thesis research –Modeled and built a novel micro-reactor device to study difficult-to-grow microbes present in intestinal, bioenergy, and soil microbiomes.– Improved electrode material for bioelectrochemical systems – Collaborated with material science researchers to develop a novel material comprised of electrospun carbon nanofibers coated with a conductive polymer (PEDOT). Evaluated performance using physicochemical, electrochemical, and bioelectrochemical techniques.

I am evaluating the commercialization of technology from my lab - it can convert waste streams in the food industry from a cost to a revenue by producing a high-value bio-oil (caproic and caprylic acid). I'm focusing on the dairy industry for waste streams, and beauty product and animal feed additives markets for the bio-oil. If you have experience or connections in these fields (or just simply interested), I'm looking to talk to you!

– Lead engineer on Ecovolt energy-positive wastewater treatment system – Led planning, design, parts selection, construction, and shipping of all subsystems for a bioelectrochemical wastewater treatment system built in a 50’ shipping container.– Project manager –Managed budget for two pilot scale-up systems. Performed detailed scheduling, process design, 2D/3D layout, vendor and equipment selection, performance and economic analysis, and safety protocols.– Researcher –Performed experimental planning, experiments, data analysis, and management tasks for SBIR/STTR Phase I and II projects (NASA, NSF, EPA, DOD) utilizing bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) for: wastewater treatment, nitrate reduction, biogas and electricity production, sensing, and closed-loop life support in space.– Engineer –Optimized critical system components through testing and sourcing, with a focus on scalable materials and techniques. Experienced authoring engineering documents: basis of design (BOD), mass and energy balances, bill of materials (BOM), process flow diagrams (PFD), piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&ID), 2D/3D CAD renderings, and techno-economic models.– Analyst –Developed data analysis tools, designed techno-economic models for BES systems: electricity production, water treatment, gas production, net energy, system sizing, CapEx, and OpEx.– Technical writer –Supported authoring efforts for numerous grant proposals and reports resulting in multiple awards over 2 years ($1.5 million, 2 Phase II NSF projects).– Lab manager –Managed ordering construction materials, sourced vendors, setup and maintained equipment, trained employees.

– Researcher –Designed, optimized, and analyzed bench-scale microbial fuel cells (MFCs, type of BES).– Engineer –Managed pilot demonstration of marine MFCs at the New England Aquarium Harbor; three 20 gallon systems powering a temperature and pressure probe.– Technologist –Maintained pilot demonstration data management system using MySQL, HTML, and PHP.

– Engineer –Led biological and engineering operations of a large-scale CO2 emissions to algae to biodiesel pilot. Developed a clean in place (CIP) procedure to sterilize the large-scale pilot algal bioreactor between runs.– Researcher –Designed and executed various liter-scale algal growth experiments to apply to the large-scale pilot by optimize system performance through CO2 feeding, nutrient loading, and materials selection.