Adam is a Breakthrough Energy Fellow who is driven to apply his fascination for materials chemistry toward solutions that can meaningfully combat environmental challenges. He has led numerous programs focused on DEI, STEM, and environmental service, including water purification and resource recovery projects on four different continents. Adam obtained his B.S. in Chemical Engineering with three minors from the Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, supported by NSF GRFP, AIChE, NAMS, AWWA, and Philomathia fellowships.

Ever is a Breakthrough Energy Fellow who is passionate about developing new solutions to combat climate change and environmental injustice. As an NSF graduate research fellow, he earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. In his previous research, Ever specialized in innovating new materials for molecular separations that offer significant enhancements in energy efficiency and performance. These new materials included plasticization-resistant membranes, porous inorganic materials, porous polymers, phase-change adsorbents, and metal–organic frameworks.

Maria earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry in 2022 from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied porous materials for chemical separations. Maria is also passionate about climate justice and policy solutions and was the VP of Finance for the UC Berkeley Science Policy Group during graduate school. In her free time, Maria sings with the NY Choral Society.

Ravi is an expert in polymer and membrane technologies with a Ph.D. and 18+ years of industrial experience in these areas. He has pioneered groundbreaking advancements in forward osmosis and reverse osmosis membranes, thin-film composites, block copolymer self-assembly, anti-fouling coatings, self-healing polymers, controlled release applications, and membrane distillation technologies. With broad hands-on experiences and unwavering dedication to polymer innovation, Ravi is a proven leader in the polymer sciences.

Alyssa is a process engineer at ChemFinity, leading different parts of the development and testing of ChemFinity’s highly selective separation prototypes. She was previously a semiconductor engineer at IBM and a chemical engineer at Amogy. As Amogy’s first employee, Alyssa wore many hats and contributed to several successful demonstrations of their technology, which utilizes ammonia as an energy source. She is highly interested in tackling environmental and climate concerns. Alyssa earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina. 

Andy earned his Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry from the University of Rochester, where he focused on C-H bond activation and catalyst design for dehydration reactions. He later worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers-Newark, where he developed iron-based catalysts for hydrogen production. With a broad set of skills in synthetic chemistry, Andy is passionate about applying his expertise to green technology applications.

Shantal Risk is an accomplished strategic and detail-oriented administrative professional with experience providing leadership development, consultation, and direction for both grassroot and corporate organizations. She has significant experience in supporting organizational transformation at the structural level, particularly in operations, HR, marketing, and project coordination. She most recently honed these skills as the Sales and Recruiting Coordinator for Beacon Hill Staffing Group. Shantal holds a B.S. degree in Communications and Rhetorical Studies with minors in both Business Marketing and Spanish from Syracuse University.

Ellie is a ChemFinity intern who joined the team in January 2024. She works on ChemFinity’s electrochemical membrane system, extracting critical metals while purifying water. Ellie is passionate about sustainability and, with a biology background, believes that combining chemistry with her past experiences can help ChemFinity preserve natural resources through waste valorization. Ellie graduated with her M.S degree in Biopharmaceuticals in 2023 and a B.S in Biotechnology from TUS, Ireland.

Jeff joins the materials research team at ChemFinity for Summer 2024. His undergraduate research involved measuring the solution properties of ionomers, and his current interests are at the intersection of chemistry and computational methods in research. Away from research, Jeff plays the keyboard and frequents art attractions in NYC. Jeff is currently pursuing his M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University.

Hiran Vedam is a Breakthrough Energy Business Fellow working closely with ChemFinity. Hiran is an entrepreneurial leader passionate about developing and creating value from advanced technologies. She has over two decades of experience in working at the intersection of technology, business, and intellectual property, helping startups in the energy, environment, water, chemical, construction, and electronics industries. Hiran has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, MBA from INSEAD, M.S. from Washington University, and a B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Edouard Bulteau is a Breakthrough Energy Business Fellow working with ChemFinity. Edouard has more than a decade of experience working in clean technologies and clean energy startups. Before joining Breakthrough Energy, he worked as a corporate venture Investment Director for TotalEnergies, one of the largest multi-energy companies in the world. Edouard earned his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.S. with a specialization in Applied Mathematics to Ecology and Economics from the Ecole Polytechnique in France.