Checkerspot: From Molecule to Material to Mountain & Beyond

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• Charles Rand, Ph.D., Manager of Materials Science, Checkerspot
• Sponsored by Silicon Valley ACS
• Online via Zoom, Free, Registration required

Abstract: The world needs new, high-performance materials that are less toxic and safe for the environment. The field of materials science is running short of molecular building blocks, having exhausted the permutations available from petrochemical and commodity vegetable oil monomers. A wealth of alternatives, however, are available through pathways that nature has developed over billions of years.

Checkerspot is a materials company that creates new high-performance materials by leveraging biotechnology. We do this by optimizing microbes to biomanufacture oils (and derivative fatty acids) that have, up until now, not been accessible commercially. Our first materials applications that demonstrate our approach are next generation polyurethanes, which are designed for the improved performance of skis and snowboards as animated through the WNDR Alpine outdoor brand. Our Vision is one of empowerment: to deliver unique, inspiring technologies and materials into the creative hands of fabricators and designers, the makers that conceive the next generation of high-performance products. This talk will discuss the structural organization of Checkerspot, the potential of Checkerspot’s Molecular Foundry, and some of the challenges and approaches of animating Checkerspot’s new materials into skis and snowboards through the WNDR Alpine outdoor brand.

Bio:

Dr. Charles Rand is the Manager of Material Science and Application Development for Checkerspot. The material science group at Checkerspot is focused on developing materials made from Checkerspot’s algal oils including the algal derived polyols used to make polyurethanes. This includes cast and rigid foam polyurethanes used in WNDR Alpine skis. Charles received his PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After completing his PhD, Charles joined Rohm & Haas which was acquired by Dow Chemical. Charles has 13 granted patents and has developed materials for photovoltaic applications, roof coatings, concrete, and insulation binders for the construction industry as well as binders for the acquisition layer in diapers.