Today we’d like to introduce you to Latika Menon.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Latika. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I happen to be a physics professor at Northeastern university. My research expertise is in the area of nanomaterials. We synthesize and look into various applications of nanomaterials. My lab has been researching titanium dioxide, gallium nitride and various other semiconductor nanomaterials for some years. Over the last 4-5 years we have been looking into ways to commercialize the technologies that we are developing. We participated in an NSF funded Icorps program that gave us the opportunity to do an intensive customer discovery process. We looked into potential applications of one specific nanomaterial, namely titanium dioxide nanotubes that we synthesize in our lab. Through interaction with potential customers we learned of possible applications in water treatment industry, particularly for removal of oil and organic contaminants from oil-well produced water, domestic and industrial wastewater. Subsequent to that we won the Shell Gamechanger award that helped us design and develop prototype benchtop filtration units. We were able to successfully demonstrate proof of concept results.
Following this, we were funded by Massachusetts Clean energy center and over the last 1 year we have expanded the application market to wastewater treatment. Currently, we are at the stage of developing pilot units that can be tested on-site.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road. Coming from an academic background where we mostly conduct lab scale research, working towards a real-world application has been quite challenging. One big challenge for us was in the fact that we are in the technology space where we have an idea looking for an application. So, we had to talk to several customers to learn about the industry pain points before we were able to get to our current stage.
There were also challenges associated with obtaining funding to conduct R&D. Since this involves capital equipment, manufacturing and related hardware there were additional expenses that needed to be covered and hence it was imperative to find funding at all stages. Finding the right industry partners has also been a challenge. Being a niche industry particularly in MA it has been a struggle to find customers interested in partnering and funding the research.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Menon Laboratories – what should we know?
The company develops filtration membranes based on titanium dioxide that we synthesize in a unique architecture namely nanotubes. The filtration membranes are robust both at high temperature and harsh chemical conditions. Our initial results are very promising and compared to competitors we perform at par or better.
With further R&D we could set the industry standard for membrane filtration products. So far in all our tests with oil-field produced water, domestic wastewater, industrial wastewater, wastewater from appliances, etc., our results are very promising.
We are also proud of the fact that as a small start-up we have already been able to generate some revenue through sale of our titania nanotubes as specialty materials.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I am the founder of the company and I think it is my risk-taking attitude and perseverance that has helped. Rather than stay in the confines of my research laboratory at Northeastern University, I preferred to get out of my comfort zone and take a calculated risk on this technology.
Contact Info:
- Address: 28 Dane St
Somerville, MA 02143 - Website: www.menonlaboratories.com
- Phone: 3392242787
- Email: latika@menonlaboratories.com
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