Our Origin

CO-FOUNDER & CEO

Recently awarded Forbes 30 Under 30, Rawand Rasheed brings a deep technical background. He has a PhD from Rice University and has more than 5 years of experience at NASA, first as a graduate research fellow and then as a Life Support Systems Engineer. Rawand is a named inventor on the patent application for the Helix MICRA™ filter. Rawand also is part of Rice University’s inaugural cohort of innovation fellows, where he is training in business and entrepreneurship. Rawand holds several patents and has published his work on his filters in a top 5% journal (based on impact factor). Rawand recently won first place at the Napier Rice Launch Challenge for Helix Earth Technologies where he competed against 84 other startup companies.

CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER

Brad Husick is a seasoned entrepreneur who co-founded 3 successful tech companies (sale, IPO, privately held $1.5B) and early entered one company (IPO, $9B peak) in his career. Brad has a BA in Astrophysics from Rice University and an MBA from Columbia. He began his career at Apple and HP. With experience in startups, advertising, product marketing, business development, marketing, sales, and operations, Brad combines his technical know-how with business sense to build value. His interest in sustainability began when he worked for The Ocean Cleanup, removing plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a floating gyre of plastic larger than the state of Texas.

Science Advisor

Dr. Daniel J. Preston directs the Preston Innovation Laboratory at Rice University, conducting research at the intersection of energy, materials, and fluids. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the ASME Old Guard Early Career Award, and the Energy Polymer Group CerMficate of Excellence. His group’s recent work has been published in PNAS, Science Advances, Advanced Intelligent Systems, Advanced Science, and ACS Nano. His lab is funded by NASA, the NaMonal Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy, among other sources. Dr. Preston earned his B.S. (2012) in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama and his M.S. (2014) and Ph.D. (2017) in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following his graduate degrees, he trained as a postdoctoral fellow from 2017–2019 at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology before joining Rice University as an assistant professor in July 2019.

Science Advisor

Dr. Nenad Miljkovic is a Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He has courtesy appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, as well as the Materials Research Laboratory. He is the Co-Director of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center (ACRC), which is supported by 25 industrial partners. His group’s research intersects the multidisciplinary fields of thermo-fluid science, interfacial phenomena, scalable nanomanufacturing, and renewable energy. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the ACS PRF DNI Award, the ONR YIP Award, the ASME ICNMM Young Faculty Award, the ASME Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal, the CERL R&D Technical Achievement Award, the US Army Corps of Engineers ERDC R&D Achievement Award, the SME Young Faculty Award, the Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer, the ASME EPPD Early Career Award, and is an ASME Fellow.

HVAC Advisor

Andrew is Chief Operating Officer at Kensington Mechanical, a refrigeration contractor headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Through his personal endeavors and career, he strives to bring his passion for the environment and sustainability to the forefront. Through volunteer and on-the-job initiatives, he has worked to adopt progressive strategies.

Andrew is a Lifetime Member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) and serve on the Advisory Board for Minuteman High School and Lynn Technical Institute HVAC.

HVAC Advisor

Kevin began his career in HVAC in 1994 after graduating from UT Austin with a BS in mechanical engineering with honors and graduating from the Trane Graduate HVAC Engineering program at the top of his class. During his 30-year career he has succeeded in various roles in sales, operations, management, and product development. He is currently focusing his efforts on business development, promoting sustainability, and improving indoor air quality. His passion is discovering new technologies and applying them to the HVAC industry to reduce the energy intensity of the built environment.

Kevin is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED-AP) and Certified Air Filtration Specialist (CAFS). He is a senior member of his local ASHRAE Chapter having served in all chair positions and chapter president. He is currently a member of the US Green Building Council, Building Owners and Managers Association, Texas Energy Managers Association, Indoor Air Quality Association, and the National Air Filtration Association.

Hunton is Trane's largest independent distributor of commercial, industrial, and residential heating and air conditioning systems and equipment.

Strategic & Financial Advisor

Gary Wipfler retired from his position as Vice President and Corporate Treasurer, Apple in October of 2021 after 35 years with the company. As VP & Treasurer at Apple, Wipfler was responsible for the company’s cash and investments, foreign exchange, treasury operations, corporate finance, risk management, investor relations, credit/debit card payment platforms, and capital structure, including debt issuance and return of capital. In addition to these activities, Wipfler spent his last two years at Apple, forming and co-chairing Apple's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Steering Committee.

Technical Advisor

Mr. Layne Carter, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Layne Carter was hired by NASA in 1988 after receiving a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He also received a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. During his 30+ years at NASA, Mr. Carter worked on the development, design, delivery and operation of the ISS Water Recovery System (WRS), which includes the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). He was the ISS Water Subsystem Manager, for which he was responsible for the ongoing operation of the water management and WRS on ISS. In addition, he was the co-Lead for NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Wastewater Processing and Water Management team, which has the responsibility for developing the technologies to be used for NASA’s future manned missions.

Business Advisor

Kyle creates systems and process to help organizations find and develop new ideas, programs and technologies, and translate them into real world companies. He works with students, faculty and researchers at Rice University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, to help them launch world changing startups in and out of the classroom.

His consulting work focuses on entrepreneurship training for scientists/engineers, and corporate innovation, especially building frameworks for large companies engaging in startup ecosystems around the world.

Prior to Rice, Kyle was the first Executive Director for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in CU Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, building that programming from scratch and launching an Engineering Entrepreneurship Minor. Before CU Boulder, he worked with MIT's Innovation Initiative to revamp their Corporate Engagement Program, and conceptualize and develop new models for startup accelerators, venture funds and other programs.

In the past he’s run Marketing for a consumer hardware startup, and created and run programs for entrepreneurs across MIT, like the DeltaV Accelerator and Jackson W. Goss Fellows Program. Alumni from these programs have raised +$175M, with several acquisitions by companies like Dropbox and AthenaHealth. He’s started companies, invested in companies and loves helping and mentoring new entrepreneurs who have a passion for changing the world.

Business Advisor

Greg is a results-oriented Global Technology Executive experienced in manufacturing and services industries, clean energy startup scouting and mentoring. Greg spent 10 years as VP at Halliburton and was VP Engineering at Carrier Corporation prior. Greg covers: hydrogen, clean energy startups, oil and gas technology, enzymes and biofuels, specialty chemicals, polymers, coatings, lighting and HVAC. Superior business results leading complex technologies at multi-site global locations. Driving growth and change with vision, clarity, decisiveness, and Six Sigma implementation.

Business Advisor

Pat is a recognized climate tech leader who brings two decades of experience in the climate solutions industry, connecting startups to sources of funding, customers, channel partners and business mentors. Previously, she led the Urban Future Lab at NYU Tandon where she is now an Advisor. She is also an Advisor to RA Capital Planetary, to the Breakthrough Energy Fellows Program, to AirCompany and is both a direct investor and an LP investor in climatetech. 

A former practicing and academic architect, she has used her knowledge of buildings’ energy use to focus on climate solutions. Pat holds an MArch from Harvard University. She has been on the investing team at Good Energies, an early climate focused VC and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Wyss Institute at Harvard and a Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome.