Experience

Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC)

• Canada
• Investment Management
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Project Engineer

  • Aug 2023 - Present

  Ontario, Canada

• Project Engineer in Training

  • Jan 2020 - Aug 2023

  Eastern Ontario, Canada Technical and project management consultant: 1. Performing technical due diligence of prospective sustainable chemistry technology candidates for investment 2. Providing clients with process support. For example, I'm creating a process flow-chart for a client's first pilot line 3. Creating SPC charts and a process tracking system for an established sustainable polymers company, and analyzing and summarizing results for senior management 4. Advising clients on technical issues, with… Show more Technical and project management consultant: 1. Performing technical due diligence of prospective sustainable chemistry technology candidates for investment 2. Providing clients with process support. For example, I'm creating a process flow-chart for a client's first pilot line 3. Creating SPC charts and a process tracking system for an established sustainable polymers company, and analyzing and summarizing results for senior management 4. Advising clients on technical issues, with a focus on advanced materials and polymers research Financial and business development consultant: 1. Creating financial models and cash flows for startups 2. Reviewing and advising on business plans for sustainable chemistry startups 3. Working with the St. Lawrence Economic Development Comission and other partners to develop a Hybrid Chemistry cluster centered in the INVISTA Maitland site



FireRein Inc.

• Technical Advisor

  • Sep 2022 - Present

  Napanee, Ontario, Canada FireRein Inc. was founded by firefighters to produce a superior alternative to 'forever chemical' PFAS containing firefighting foams. Our flagship product, EcoGel, is the only UL-listed and USDA Bio-Preferred (100% bio-based) certified gel on the market that is 100% PFAS free. It has been third-party tested to be effective on Class A, and hydrocarbon and polar solvent Class B fires. On secondment from BIC as technical advisor to FireRein Inc. 1. Providing technical support to sales… Show more FireRein Inc. was founded by firefighters to produce a superior alternative to 'forever chemical' PFAS containing firefighting foams. Our flagship product, EcoGel, is the only UL-listed and USDA Bio-Preferred (100% bio-based) certified gel on the market that is 100% PFAS free. It has been third-party tested to be effective on Class A, and hydrocarbon and polar solvent Class B fires. On secondment from BIC as technical advisor to FireRein Inc. 1. Providing technical support to sales and marketing team, including technical presentations and addressing challenges from the competitive landscape 2. Creating financial projections for presentation to investors 3. Streamlining R&D pipeline for new products 4. Quality control and troubleshooting associated injection equipment for firetrucks 5. Market analysis for firefighting water additives and supporting senior management in medium-term decision making Show less



Terra Bioindustries

• Canada
• Food and Beverage Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Technical Lead

  • Nov 2020 - Present

  1. Leading and coordinating current efforts to extract proteins from brewer's and distiller's spent grain on a pilot- and demonstration-scale 2. Leading research to commercialize new applications for sugar syrups for conversion to chemical intermediates



Polytechnique Montréal

• Canada
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Masters Researcher

  • Sep 2017 - Oct 2019

  Montreal, Canada Area Project: to fabricate MEMS ionic-liquid electrospray satellite-propulsion system using carbon xerogels • An electrolyte (ionic liquid) flows to the surface of a patterned resorcinol-formaldehyde based carbon xerogel by capillary forces, and under the influence of high electric field, electrosprays as a jet of ions to generate thrust • Explored conventional microfabrication techniques like reaction ion etching (RIE), deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and laser ablation, these were rejected… Show more Project: to fabricate MEMS ionic-liquid electrospray satellite-propulsion system using carbon xerogels • An electrolyte (ionic liquid) flows to the surface of a patterned resorcinol-formaldehyde based carbon xerogel by capillary forces, and under the influence of high electric field, electrosprays as a jet of ions to generate thrust • Explored conventional microfabrication techniques like reaction ion etching (RIE), deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) and laser ablation, these were rejected because of damage to the pores. The patterns created were analysed with SEM and Dektak profilometry. Finally, a novel, rapid, maskless and one-step approach utilizing an automated silicon wafer dicing saw was adapted to etch micro-patterns which does not damage the xerogel porosity • Created 3-D designs on AutoCAD Fusion for device schematics • This project is the foundation of a cost-efficient miniature-satellite propulsion system • Author on 1 article being prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed journal Side Project: exploring the charge-modulation properties of abundant metal-oxides in an electrolyte gated transistor (EGT) • Metal-oxides deposited on an insulating substrate pre-patterned with gold electrodes by conventional photolithography and e-beam deposition followed by lift-off, and the electrolyte and carbon gate placed successively on the metal oxide layer, and transistor and electrochemical characteristics obtained. • Explored different substrates like SiO2, polyimide, and PDMS • Co-author on 1 article being prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed journal Miscellaneous responsibilities • Laboratory safety-in-charge, designing and implementing lab safety protocols, and implementing safety campaigns including periodic chemical inventory, lab inspections and safety training • Student organizing committee of workshop on sustainable materials in electronics Show less



ARLANXEO

• Netherlands
• Chemical Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research and Development Associate

  • Jul 2015 - Apr 2017

  London, Canada Area Primary responsibilities • Compounded rubber in a 500-g Brabender mixer and hot 2-roll mill with filler, curatives, and additives in support of plant trials for quality control, and technical sales personnel to reverse-engineer desired properties and explore novel rubber formulations • Cured rubber in hydraulic press to create species for ASTM tests; performed rheology testing to determine visco-elastic properties of rubber compounds (Mooney, cure-time estimations, rubber process… Show more Primary responsibilities • Compounded rubber in a 500-g Brabender mixer and hot 2-roll mill with filler, curatives, and additives in support of plant trials for quality control, and technical sales personnel to reverse-engineer desired properties and explore novel rubber formulations • Cured rubber in hydraulic press to create species for ASTM tests; performed rheology testing to determine visco-elastic properties of rubber compounds (Mooney, cure-time estimations, rubber process analyser) and mechanical tests of cured rubber species (mechanical tester to measure Young’s modulus, stress-strain behaviour, and tear strength, and Shore hardness) R&D side-project: to qualitatively investigate bromo-butyl rubber curing to determine the most important factors • Brominated a solution of butyl rubber to three separate levels, and dried in a hot 2-roll mill • Created rubber compounds in Brabender mixer and hot 2-roll mill of the custom and company bromo-butyl rubbers, and non-halogenated butyl rubber, varying filler and curative levels, as well as investigating different curative chemistries • Performed rheology testing to determine visco-elastic properties of rubber compounds (Mooney, cure-time estimations, rubber process analyser), oxygen permeability, and mechanical tests of cured rubber species (mechanical tester to measure Young’s modulus, stress-strain behaviour, and tear strength, and Shore hardness) • Presented these results before technical sales personnel and senior management Show less



EcoSynthetix Inc.

• Canada
• Chemical Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Student Researcher

  • Sep 2014 - Dec 2014

  Burlington, Ontario Project: to investigate Ecosphere in wood adhesives • Combined Ecosphere with additives, combined with sawdust to create wood-particle mats and cured these in a furnace to create particleboards; each board varied in the level of Ecosphere and/or additives • The particleboards were tested in an Instron mechanical tester to measure Young’s modulus, breaking stress, and internal bonding • Lignin from various sources and processes (kraft, acid, etc.) modified and tested as reagent in… Show more Project: to investigate Ecosphere in wood adhesives • Combined Ecosphere with additives, combined with sawdust to create wood-particle mats and cured these in a furnace to create particleboards; each board varied in the level of Ecosphere and/or additives • The particleboards were tested in an Instron mechanical tester to measure Young’s modulus, breaking stress, and internal bonding • Lignin from various sources and processes (kraft, acid, etc.) modified and tested as reagent in Ecosphere-additive combination to increase the bio-based content of proposed wood-adhesive product • This work is the foundation of the current line of wood-adhesive applications of Ecosphere Miscellaneous • Quality control during plant trials, testing the viscosity, and pH of standardized Ecosphere-water mixtures, and water content of dried powder Show less



Technische Universität Braunschweig

• Germany
• Research Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Project Intern

  • Mar 2014 - Apr 2014

  Braunschweig Area, Germany Project: Researched performance of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) Performed experiments to determine the voltage-current behavior Varied experimental conditions, such as methanol solution concentration, fuel cell temperature, in order to determine their effect on the fuel cell performance Helped supervising graduate student to troubleshoot issues in the fuel cell



University of Toronto

• Canada
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• R&D Intern

  • Sep 2012 - Dec 2012

  Toronto, Canada Area Primary project: to convert tree-bark powder into polyurethane intermediates • As part of the Bark Bio-refinery project, which seeks to use forestry-industry wastes especially bark as the source of high-value chemical precursors like polyols, it was desired to convert pulverized and de-waxed tree-bark into polyols • Investigated the determining factors of reaction output of a base-catalyzed oxypropylation reaction to add a sidechain to processed tree-bark to create polyol for use in… Show more Primary project: to convert tree-bark powder into polyurethane intermediates • As part of the Bark Bio-refinery project, which seeks to use forestry-industry wastes especially bark as the source of high-value chemical precursors like polyols, it was desired to convert pulverized and de-waxed tree-bark into polyols • Investigated the determining factors of reaction output of a base-catalyzed oxypropylation reaction to add a sidechain to processed tree-bark to create polyol for use in polyurethane-based adhesives and foams • Taguchi experimental optimization was used to minimize the number of experiments • Performed thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) on synthesized polyol mixtures • Co-authored 1 journal article Show less



University of Waterloo

• Canada
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• R&D Intern

  • Jun 2011 - Apr 2012

  Kitchener, Canada Area Project: to investigate NMR as a quantification tool of aqueous biochemical mixtures for metabolomics • Known mixtures of biochemical components prepared, each of 2 levels, the number of mixtures were optimized by a Plackett-Burman design. • NMR spectra of each mixture obtained and analysed by 3 different lab colleagues. This shed light on human error, impact of convoluted peaks in complex mixtures, and contaminants • NMR spectra of metabolite mixtures (urine, spent cell media)… Show more Project: to investigate NMR as a quantification tool of aqueous biochemical mixtures for metabolomics • Known mixtures of biochemical components prepared, each of 2 levels, the number of mixtures were optimized by a Plackett-Burman design. • NMR spectra of each mixture obtained and analysed by 3 different lab colleagues. This shed light on human error, impact of convoluted peaks in complex mixtures, and contaminants • NMR spectra of metabolite mixtures (urine, spent cell media) obtained and characterized • Performed cell culture of Chinese Hamster Ovary and insect cells • Co-authored 2 journal articles Show less