Q&A with Max-IR Labs
We sat down with Katy Roodenko, Founder and CEO of UT Dallas-based Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing startup to learn more about the work they are doing. Max-IR Labs provides scalable infrared sensor solutions to industries that require specific thermal and chemical monitoring capabilities for R&D and production line operations.
Katy Roodenko: Max-IR Labs’ R&D efforts target development of a cost-effective online monitoring solution to facilitate optimal performance of nitrate and ammonia removal systems, resulting in aeration energy cost savings and a more constant effluent quality.
Katy Roodenko: The future product will be a reliable online low-maintenance sensor package for nitrate and ammonia monitoring.
Katy Roodenko: Centralized and on-site waste water treatment systems, drinking water facilities, environmental monitoring, agricultural sector (runoff monitoring).
Katy Roodenko: Competitive technology is based upon UV instrumentation and ion-selective electrodes (ISE). Max-IR Labs utilizes infrared (IR) technology – this technology has enjoyed continuous, fast-paced progress, driven by the importance of IR technology in the defense sector. The advantages would be numerous – this technology will provide a real-time, self-calibrating water quality monitoring capabilities, that could be operated unattended (remotely). Our innovation is expected to revolutionize the field of IR sensing in aqueous environment in general, breaking barriers and opening many new opportunities far beyond nitrate sensing.
Katy Roodenko: The development of nitrate sensor is supported by Phase-I NSF STTR, in collaboration with the lab of Prof. Yves Chabal. Max-IR Labs has also received Phase-I and had been recently notified of its selection for Phase-II of the AF-STTR for their other project. That project also utilizes IR technology but for development of temperature sensor capable of temperature monitoring from ultra small objects, which will be performed in collaboration with Prof. Qing Gu from UT Dallas.
We plan to make money by selling the product. In the future, we may probably provide options for data collection, data analysis and replacement of parts
Katy Roodenko: Max-IR Labs is a young technology startup, and we learned that we must be constantly exploring the needs of the industry for online monitoring tools. As such, we discovered that our solutions can be implemented within water, health and oil & gas industries. We see strong potential of implementing modern infrared (IR) technology – novel IR detectors and solid-state lasers, such as quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) – in field applications beyond research laboratories.
Katy Roodenko: We are already talking to manufacturer and trying to come up with a way that the final product will look like. We start from a prototype development Phase and it may probably change a couple of times before we finalize. The roadmap is to develop it and install at least several first customer sites and try to find partners with whom we can cooperate to provide an edge solution.