Where some see waste, SEFS alumna Danielle Pascoli sees possibility. That perspective has led her from looking for higher-value uses for plant waste during her PhD to becoming the sole founder of an innovative nanofiber company in the last year.
As an undergraduate student in her home country of Brazil, Danielle was a biochemical engineering major when she joined a research project using waste material from sugarcane industry to make biofuels.
“That was the first time I did anything hands-on, and I remember my mind was blown. You’re taking trash and waste and you’re making a valuable product out of it. I was so in love with that idea that I knew I wanted to keep doing this for my career,” said Danielle.
Years later, Danielle joined the Bioresource Science and Engineering program at the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) to work with Professors Renata Bura and Rick Gustafson on biofuel research for her master’s degree. With a growing interest in working with longer-lasting materials, Danielle turned her focus to biomaterials, such as nanocellulose, for her PhD studies. Nanocellulose is a natural biopolymer made from plant materials that has unique properties, such as reinforcing and lightweighing, and can be used to create enhanced and more sustainable materials in many industries.
From cosmetics, electronics, and sensors, to packaging, plastic, and cement, nanocellulose has an array of applications. But the nanofibers currently on the market are made with expensive wood pulp materials through processes with a high environmental and economic cost, which limits their production on a large scale. Danielle and her advisors set out to find a better alternative.
“We wanted to solve that problem. That’s how it all started,” said Danielle. Using different types of waste from agricultural residues, invasive plant species, and industrial hemp, they started developing a low-cost process to produce nanocellulose. The project began with Washington State funding Prof. Gustafson and Bura’s effort to develop sustainable biobased industries for Lewis County – a region of the state that is aggressively developing its industrial base. One of the industries was the production of nanocellulose, and in the course of the research, it was discovered that reed canary grass, a widespread invasive species in the state that overtakes native plants and harms biodiversity, is an excellent feedstock for nanocellulose production. The use of an invasive species to produce a very high-value product is so compelling that Gustafson and Bura have since been awarded an additional $1 million from Washington State to continue this research.
Not only did their process work, the nanocellulose they created vastly improved the materials it was added to. When incorporated into biodegradable plastic, the material becomes stronger, tougher, and more flexible. What’s more, the process was by far more cost-effective than any existing system and could be adapted to a range of waste materials.
In the last year of her PhD program, Danielle was mainly focused on testing the materials in front of her, and her impending graduation timeline. That changed when she attended a presentation on the Activate Fellowship program during a conference. Activate focuses on helping scientists turn their technologies into products, and bring real solutions to life through commercial enterprises. Both of Danielle’s advisors immediately encouraged her to apply, despite her initial hesitations.
“I was focused on graduating. That was my last year, I had my thesis defense coming up. I was like, ‘I’m worried about defending, I’m not worried about creating a company right now,’” said Danielle. But over the course of a few weeks, her advisors helped her see her own potential as an entrepreneur and leader, so she decided to submit an application based on the technology she developed at the UW.
The fellowship kicked off a whirlwind journey that led Danielle to defend her thesis, complete her PhD, move to a different state, and start a company on her own in the span of the summer of 2022. She faced a massive transition from the academic world and soon found the NSF’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program to help build her entrepreneurial skills and confidence. The I-Corps program is an immersive, entrepreneurial training program that facilitates scientists along the transformation toward commercialization.
In the year since Danielle launched VERDE Nanomaterials, she has tackled a dramatic learning curve. From finding funders and market testing products to navigating all the bureaucratic red tape that accompanies running a business, she was grateful for the continued support of her former advisors and fellows cohort.
“It wasn’t something that I was born with, thinking ‘I’m going to create a company. I’m an entrepreneur.’ It really grew on me over time,” said Danielle.
Her first year as a company founder was far from easy. She had to learn how not to think like a scientist 100% of the time, and start seeing the world from a business perspective. She learned that just having really cool technology is not enough. Figuring out what value your technology brings to the world is key to success.
Now, Danielle is building a vision for her budding company. Currently, she’s testing materials to find out what type of product will be most cost-effective, in demand, and effective to produce as her first prototype. In the coming year, Danielle plans to hire her first employee.
Having mentors that helped her take the leap out of the lab and into creating real-world solutions has allowed her to go farther than she ever anticipated.
“I am 100% sure that if I weren’t at SEFS, working with the people I worked with, I would never be doing what I’m doing right now. It felt like I wasn’t trying anything by myself. I really had a network of support that was there, saying ‘you can do it,’” said Danielle.
