INFLUIT ENERGY - Key Persons
Alex leads Influit's business development and messaging
Job Titles:
- Member of Influit
- Prototype Engineer
Anastasia is responsible for design, fabrication and testing of custom hardware.
Anastasia is a member of Influit's design team and is responsible for designing and fabricating custom hardware to optimize the performance of our flow batteries.
She holds a M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology with a graduate specialization in power and control systems. Day to day work for Anastasia focuses on performing electrochemical tests on our flow batteries and designing and fabricating both mechanical and electrical hardware for optimization of battery functionality. Additional expertise in the interconnection and analysis of medium and high voltage renewable energy systems allows her to serve as a technical resource for the interconnection of future grid connected battery systems.
Prior to Influit Energy, Anastasia worked for two years in the renewable energy industry as a power engineer during which she helped to facilitate the interconnection of over 300 MW of solar, wind, and BESS facilities throughout the United States. Quality and adherence to safe engineering practices is a priority for Anastasia as she holds an OSHA training certification.
Outside of work, she likes to visit Chicago's restaurants with friends and coworkers, garden, and hang out with her three pets.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Manager
- Executive
Before joining Influit she worked for over 35 years as a technical translator and language consultant. Anna has an M.A. in Literature from the University of California in San Diego.
Brenn is responsible for the development of the electrical control systems.
Brenn holds a BS in Electronic Engineering and is a member of Influit's design team. He is responsible for the design, fabrication and testing of the electrical control systems for the Influit battery. He draws experience from over 20 years designing products for the medical, petroleum distribution and fire protection fields.
Brenn is an avid reader of science-fiction and enjoys boxing and bicycling in his spare time.
At Influit Carlo serves as the CTO and CFO.
He has a Ph.D. in Physics and has been a faculty member at Illinois Institute of Technology since 1983 and has over 40 years of experience in materials research. His expertise spans materials synthesis, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, structural and electrochemical properties of advanced battery and fuel cell materials, and development of X-ray optics for synchrotron radiation experimentation. He is the DIrector of the Illinois Tech Center for Synchrotron Radiation Research and Instrumentation (CSRRI) and the Director of the Materials Research Collaborative Access Team (MRCAT) which operates an experimental facility for materials research at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Carlo has over 200 publications in materials science and physics.
Outside of his professional responsibilities he runs the High School Bridge Building Contest and is a Debian Gnu/Linux Developer.e.
Danny is responsible for hardware development, and product visualization.
Danny leads Influit's design team and is a crossfunctional technologist responsible for design methodology, hardware development, and product visualization.
He is also responsible for designing the physical cells of our batteries. Danny has experience in the technology and entrepreneurship areas. He has schooling in industrial design and experience in advanced manufacturing, small batch manufacturing, and prototype to production design.
Outside of work, he is a martial artist and bassist.
Job Titles:
- Founder, COO, Director of R & D
Elena is responsible for internal company operations and R&D direction.
Elena is responsible for internal company operations, interactions and communications, and building and maintaining our corporate culture. As the Director of R&D, she leads Influit's pursuit for innovative technologies and is one of the inventors of NEF technology, including the synthesis process and the idea of using nanoparticles as charge carriers rather than ions.
Prior to Influit, she was at Argonne National Laboratory for 8 years, where she followed a career path from postdoc to principal chemist. She also went through I-Corps and CleanTech Open entrepreneurial training and served as a reviewer for SBIR grant proposals for the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation. She is also a research associate professor at Illinois Institute of Technology. She has a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry. Her expertise is in batteries, nanochemical systems engineering and heat transfer fluids. Elena is a recipient of a 40 Under 40 award, has authored over 50 research papers, has written 4 book chapters, and holds 5 patents.
Outside of work, she enjoys photography and running.
John is responsible for the company's overall operations and drives Influit's vision.
John is responsible for the company's overall operations and drives Influit's company vision.
John has over 17 years of experience in material science as well as the named inventor on our core technology's patents. He spent a career in applied physics, working with government agencies, renowned research groups, and policy makers. John's expertise spans from ideation to manufacturing and business development. A former member of the Material Research Collaboration Access Team at Illinois Tech, he designed and built multiple beamlines at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, and is an expert in battery materials.
Outside of work, he loves music and moonlights as a recording engineer.
Kyle is responsible for nanomaterial synthesis and assists with scale-up operations.
Kyle is new to Chicago from Philadelphia, and has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. With nearly a decade of eclectic experience as a chemical engineer in various chemical production and performance materials industries, Kyle has worn countless hats from production engineering to supply chain and more recently venturing into product development. Kyle is excited to bring his chemical manufacturing experience to Influit Energy's scale-up efforts, and is even more excited to be venturing further into lab chemistry and product development with the wonderful team here at Influit!
Outside of work, Kyle is an avid musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist excited to explore Chicago's amazing music and theater scenes
Mark is responsible for R&D initiatives and system's modelling.
Mark is part of Influits hardware and materieals development team and is responsible for research and hardware development on the product. He assists in designing , modeling, analysis, develops testing parameters, and assists with general technological development, hardware testing, and project management.
Mark has a Ph.D. in Physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Prior to Influit, his research included superconductivity, accelerator photoinjector R&D, synchrotron and X-ray characterization techniques and nuclear materials. He was a beamline scientist at Materials Research Collaborative Access Team at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. He received a Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research award for superconducting photocathode research.
Outside of work, Mark is a drummer in various musical acts across the greater Chicago area
Matthew is a member of Influit's NEF research and development team. He is responsible for nanofluid synthesis and helping with manufacturing build up. Additionally, he assists with nanoparticle rheology and general chemical safety procedures.
Matthew graduated from Lewis University with a B.S. in Chemistry. Before Influit, he worked in the water treatment industry for over 4 years giving him chemical manufacturing, laboratory, and product development experience. He also had hands-on involvement in the distribution of chemical products, laboratory product quality assurance, and product improvement.
In his spare time when he's not in the lab he enjoys playing video games, swimming, and paintball.
Job Titles:
- Member of Influit
- Prototype Engineer
Michael is responsible for designing and fabricating custom hardware.
Michael is a member of Influit's design team and is responsible for designing and fabricating parts to optimize the performance of our flow batteries.
He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from St. Cloud State University and a diploma in Machine Tool Technology from Alexandria Technical and Community College. In Michael's day to day work, he performs tests on our flow batteries and runs simulations for optimizing flow fields within the cells. Another aspect of his work is to design parts for manufacturability, utilizing his experience as a tool designer, machinist and within injection molding. Prior to Chicago, Michael lived in Minnesota where he was able to be exposed to multiple manufacturing practices. Safety is also a top priority of Influit as Michael oversees Electrical Safety for our company.
Outside of work, he likes to explore Chicago through the scenic bike trails, discovering new places to socialize with coworkers and friends, and trying the phenomenal restaurants unique to the city.
Sinjin is responsible for battery testing, nanofluid design, electrochemical modelling.
Sinjin is part of Influit's research team and is responsible for battery testing, nanofluid design, and electrochemistry.
Additionally, she assists with nanoparticle synthesis and characterization for optimal rheology and electrochemical performance. Sinjin earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology as a Duchossois Leadership Scholar and is currently a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. Student at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). At UIC, her thesis topic focuses on the electrochemical and transport phenomena of the NEF flow battery.
On the weekends, Sinjin enjoys playing volleyball, golf, and knitting.