About Us
What We Do
We bring materials, ideas and a Maker-mentality to the bench to perform Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create industry changing solutions that provide a positive real-world impact on people's lives and the planet. We produce innovative solutions that drive climate-minded companies.
On the Bench
Our flagship project is a dehumidification component that regenerates desiccant using significantly less energy than a common traditional method.
Things we are Making
The Team
Zak Smolen
Zak Smolen is a Senior Engineer for GE, primarily focusing on simulation tools for power grid planning and analysis. He is also a board member and former president of the Asheville Makers as well as one of the founders and organizers of the Asheville Maker Faire. He is a jack of all trades working with electronics, software, 3D printing, laser cutting, and more, and combining all of those skills into specialty projects such as a fencing scoring machine and wearable electronics. Mr. Smolen has a degree in Computer Engineering from Union College.
William Nixdorf
William Nixdorf has been marketing heating elements for the past 20 years on behalf of Tutco-Farnam. His work with Tutco-Farnam includes developing and executing marketing strategies for selling custom heating elements, writing articles and white papers about heating elements, developing interactive online tools such as heating element configurators and heating calculators. Mr. Nixdorf is the Owner and President at MakeSHIFT Innovations, LLC. He was formerly the owner of PaleoSun, Inc. and a founding board member of the Asheville Makers.
Steve Altemeier
Steve Altemeier is a former board member of the Asheville Makers as well as one of the founders and organizers of the Asheville Maker Faire. His maker projects generally focus on embedded systems, including a home energy monitoring and management device designed to minimize costs under a specific utility pricing plan. Mr. Altemeier graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a degree in mathematics in 1987 and an MBA with a concentration in Finance in 1991. Steve retired from his post as the head of a structured credit derivative trading desk at Wells Fargo in 2010.
Advisors
Avi Silverman
Avi Silverman is a principal engineer at Kearfott Corporation, a mid-sized aerospace company. He has a decade and a half of experience working with embedded & low-power control systems across a number of different industries including commercial, industrial, and aerospace/defense. Mr. Silverman served as the vice president at Airite Air Conditioning, Inc. for 5 years, and has been on the Asheville Maker's board of directors since its founding in 2013. Mr. Silverman holds a Masters in electrical engineering from University of South Florida.
