Navid Kazem
Founder & CEO
Carmel Majidi
Founder & CTO (Chairman of the Board)Carmel Majidi is the Clarence H. Adamson Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University where he leads the Soft Machines Lab, a research group dedicated to the development of novel soft multifunctional materials for applications in wearable computing and robotics. Carmel is credited with the invention of the “Thubber” and regarded as a leading innovator in the development of soft, functional materials. In addition to Arieca, his lab at Carnegie Mellon University has created two other companies that bring cutting-edge innovation to market and at Arieca, he is co-founder, CTO, and serves as Board Chairman.
Cantwell Carson
Director of Product DevelopmentCantwell Carson has worked on a wide range of projects primarily in materials science, sensing and spectroscopy, and data analysis. This work has been carried out in several research settings, including Georgia Tech and Columbia University, the U.S. Dept. of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory, small businesses, and previous startups. He is an inventor on three patents: a method for high surface area materials synthesis, a vaccine cold-chain monitoring method, and a method for coating paper with nano-particles, which was an honorable mention in the 2018 USPTO Patents for Humanity awards. He was Principal Investigator on an U.S. Air Force-funded Small Business Innovation Research contract for developing a method of satellite tracking, as well as technical lead on numerous other government-funded projects. At Arieca, Cantwell focuses on developing new applications and formulations in a diverse set of technology sectors and solutions.
Johnathan B. Dindak
Director of Business Development and Engineering ApplicationsJohnathan Dindak is a results-driven engineer with over 14 years of experience in business development and operations. He brings a global perspective, having lived and worked across the Americas and Europe, from Poland to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Honduras. He is an adept technologist and communicator with an extensive network of relationships in several sectors. At Arieca, he applies his proven skill in complex sales to large- and small-cap businesses alike to expand the number of industries, customers, and solutions adopting Arieca technology. In addition, he has been a volunteer in his local fire department and community of West Homestead, PA for over 18 years.
Interns:
Teresa Kent
Lab Technician - InternTerri Kent is an intern working on developing a portfolio of thubber products offered by Arieca. She joins after receiving a Master’s research degree in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon at the Soft Machines Lab under Carmel Majidi. This internship is an extension of her work at CMU, where she researched novel soft actuators and liquid metal elastomer emulsions. In the fall, she will return to Carnegie Mellon to begin work on her PhD at the Robotics Institute.
Cassandra Chen
Lab Technician - InternCassandra Chen is an intern working on engineering applications of Thubber and business development at Arieca, along with helping with product development. She has researched polymeric biomaterials and its application in artificial tissue at CMU. In the fall, she will be returning to Carnegie Mellon University for her senior year finishing a Bachelors in Material Science Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.