Some time ago, we introduced readers of our blog to Kenneth
Code, the inventor of BioLargo’s Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) technology as
well as BioLargo’s other iodine-based technologies, and gave readers some
insight into his vision and his methods. Today we want to introduce the other
senior science and engineering team members who are hard at work to drive the
development of the AOS towards commercialization. The AOS is a highly
innovative and powerful novel technology for cost-efficient water treatment.
Understandably, it’s also incredibly complex. It takes a very talented, bold,
and tireless group of people to push an technology such as the AOS from the
invention phase all the way to piloting and commercialization, and we’re proud
to say our crew can easily be described as such.
There are many different aspects to the AOS development
project that require diverse skill sets. The AOS is a powerful water
disinfection device, and therefore experts in microbiology and disinfection are
needed. It also has capabilities in breaking down hard-to-treat organic
contaminants, and therefore chemical engineering specialists are needed. It is
also a complex electrochemical device, and therefore expertise in cutting-edge
electrochemistry is needed. And obviously, the AOS is a dynamic feat of
physical design and engineering, and therefore design engineering and fluid
dynamics expertise is required. All these facets of the AOS necessitate a very
diverse team – and that’s what we have.
Meet the BioLargo Water science and engineering crew:
Richard Smith, PhD –
President
Dr. Smith oversees research and development efforts at
BioLargo Water. Richard also has over ten years of experience as the Research
Development and Industrial Relations Coordinator at the University of Alberta
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences, where he oversaw the
administration of grants totaling over $10M. Dr. Smith received an MSc in
Veterinary Microbiology, a PhD in Viral Immunopathology from the University of
Saskatchewan, and he completed his postdoctoral fellowship in the Department
of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Alberta. Dr. Smith
has over 15 years of experience in industry, having worked with several Biotech
Companies in Alberta, including ChemBioMed, Alberta Reseach Council, AltaRex
and VirRexx. In 2003, Dr. Smith joined the University of Alberta as
Coordinator, Research Development & Industry Relations for the Department
of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science (AFNS) where he assisted
academics with research development and program funding. In Dr Smith’s free
time, he enjoys skiing, hiking, and expanding his horizons with travel.
Laura
Patterson-Fortin, PhD – Senior Water Disinfection Research Scientist and
co-Chief Science Officer
Laura received a PhD in Microbiology and Biotechnology from
the University of Alberta and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the
University of Florida. Laura has over 10 years’ experience in the fields of
molecular biology and microbiology using innovative techniques to study
bacterial responses to their environment. She also has extensive biotechnology
product development experience. Laura now leads BioLargo Water’s research and
development of the disinfection capabilities of the AOS, and has been
responsible for countless projects that resulted in improvements to the AOS
and/or and expanded understanding of how it works. Dr. Patterson-Fortin is also
an avid skier, soccer player, and runs in her free time.
Ahmed Moustafa, PhD –
Senior Water Decontamination Scientist and co-Chief Science Officer
Dr. Ahmed Moustafa is an environmental engineer and has +10
years of experience developing water treatment technologies. He has been
integral to the development of the AOS technology. Ahmed is a Senior Research
Scientist, leads the BioLargo Water Decontamination research and development
team. He was a Fulbright scholar in his time at Penn State University and was
awarded the Alberta Ingenuity in Nano Technology grant toward his PhD at
university of Alberta. While he’s not working, Dr. Moustafa enjoys soccer,
archery, reading, and running.
Jenny Boutros, MSc – Senior
Research Scientist
Jenny Boutros is an Engineering Research Scientist at
BioLargo Water and joined the company in 2016. Jenny plays a key role in the
design and development of the Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) through prototype
design and development, testing, scale-up, as well as supervising a team of
very talented young scientists. She holds an MSc. in Chemical and Materials
Engineering from the University of Alberta with a focus on Thermodynamic
Modelling, and a BSc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Balamand.
She also has experience in techno-economic modelling, grant writing, as well as
3D modelling and fabrication. Jenny also served as a managing member of the
Lebanese Red Cross – Koura Division for 2 years and is an accomplished musician
and composer.
Parastoo Pourrezaei,
PhD – Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Parastoo Pourrezaei is a Process Development
Engineer specializing in water and wastewater treatment processes. She
completed her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and pursued
environmental engineering for graduate studies. During her PhD in environmental
engineering discipline at University of Alberta, she completed a research
project focusing on physico-chemical treatment technologies for oil sands
process-affected water remediation. She has more than 2 years experience
working as a process engineer in training at Canadian Natural Resources
Limited-Horizon Oil Sands site dealing with major projects in the field of
process water, tailings, mining, and extraction processes. She joined BioLargo
Water in September 2015 and her research goals include the investigation of the
AOS reactor’s capabilities in the removal of organic constituents from
contaminated waters and wastewaters. In her spare time, Dr. Pourrezaei enjoys working out, hiking in the beautiful rocky mountains
(when not covered in snow), and watching movies.
What is a BioLargo
Spotlight?
It’s an exciting time
at BioLargo. We’re moving fast, and it can be difficult to keep our
stockholders and the investing public informed of our progress. In light of
this, we will be posting a series of short articles titled “BioLargo
Spotlight”, highlighting certain business activities and other important
information in between our required SEC filings. Of course, these do not
replace our public filings, which contain more complete information than can be
delivered in this forum, and thus we urge you to carefully read and rely on
those filings for definitive information, and to review our risk factors and
caution regarding forward-looking statements. We are optimistic about our
business as we work hard to continue to grow and ultimately generate profits
for our stockholders.
Legal Disclaimer
Our attorneys remind
us that while we believe these developments are important and that these small
victories could add up and lead to big victories, at this stage they do not
rise to the level of an official material disclosure. As the size and magnitude
of these developments become material, we will naturally report that
information in an 8-K and our regular SEC filings.
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