Antônio Martins, a fourth-year doctoral student in the department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, is making strides in wastewater treatment technology. His research focuses on increasing energy recovery from municipal wastewater by developing an innovative anaerobic biotechnology. His team’s approach aims to conserve energy and reduce costs for water and resource recovery facilities, which often rely on energy-intensive, traditional aerobic systems for municipal wastewater treatment. As these facilities face infrastructure updates in the coming years, Martins’ work presents an opportunity for sustainable and cost-effective innovation in the field.
Recently, Martins and his team were awarded a grant to participate in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The $50,000 grant supported extensive customer discovery for their biotechnology, allowing the team to travel to multiple water conferences and trade shows across the United States. They engaged with over 150 potential customers and stakeholders, gathering insights to build an initial business model for the technology.
Martins noted that the program taught him valuable strategies for conducting impactful customer discovery interviews and developing a business model that bridges the gap between lab-scale research and market application.
“This project is not a requirement for my Ph.D. program; it is something I pursued out of my desire to learn how to translate our research into real-world solutions,” Martins shares. “Now, I not only have the technical skills developed through my lab work, but I can also measure the societal impact of our research and map out strategies for bringing the technology to market. The I-Corps program also emphasized the importance of pivoting when your value proposition does not align with market needs, helping us identify necessary improvements for success.”
Looking ahead, Martins acknowledges that there is still much work to be done to establish the company and demonstrate the biotechnology’s effectiveness in the water industry. The NSF I-Corps award enhanced the team’s research plan and motivated them to continue developing their project.
When he’s not immersed in his research, Martins enjoys spending time with friends, taking long bike rides along Lake Michigan or the Oak Leaf Trail, and exploring Wisconsin’s parks and small towns.
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