The growing need for stricter environmental compliance around the world – and a desire for a more progressive workplace culture – provided the perfect foundation for the creation of Newark, Delaware-based Aqua Science LLC.

The basis of Aqua Science’s business lies in water and soil toxicity testing using bioluminescent reagents that the company manufactures and sells, along with sales of their proprietary luminometer for use alongside its reagent products.

But owner and chief executive officer Iwona Evans notes that her background isn’t in science – environmental or otherwise. It’s in finance, with her undergraduate business degree from Goldey-Beacom College, her MBA from the University of Delaware and a second master’s from Goldey-Beacom in business and management. She was, however, putting those degrees to work for biotech companies and saw, in February 2020, an opportunity to start her own venture with a few fellow employees following along.

“It’s been really sort of unexpected with my finance background,” she said. “I had to learn a lot about science, but it’s been great.”

Aqua Science’s products use a bioluminescent bacteria native to the Pacific Ocean that, during the production process, are freeze-dried to allow for storage and transportation. By reconstituting the bacteria, customers essentially bring it back to life. The healthier the environment, the more light the bacteria give off. The luminometer measures the level of light emitted, gauging the level of toxicity by how much the light output diminishes.

Among the changes Evans and her team have made to the process were to create more stable bacteria, which was a significant improvement, particularly considering the pandemic’s effects on international shipping, she said.

“Shipping suddenly took a lot longer, and the product has to be frozen and shipped in a cooler, so the transit time cannot be too long,” she said. “Our scientists did some additional work, and we were able to make it more stable so the bacteria would survive a longer transit time.”

The new venture bore some similarity to what Evans’ team had been doing at their previous employer. “We saw really great opportunities in the market,” she said, “and we felt they were unfulfilled, that there were changes that could be made.”

Those changes happened fast, and after some initial research and development, the Aqua Science team had a product to market six months after starting the business and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Because of the scientists we have here and their knowledge, our customers told us that really this is the best thing they’ve seen in 20 years,” Evans said. “We have the highest quality of bacteria reagents in the world now.”

In designing their new luminometer, the Aqua Science team’s goal was to take widely used but outdated technology and update it for the 21st century. “We thought we could use the cutting-edge technology that’s available right now to make this process easier and better and at the same time keep our environment – our water and soil – safer,” she said. Evans noted that her engineer husband, who doesn’t work for the company or in a related field, contributed to the design of “an incredibly simple and fully custom user interface” for the device. “It’s something I know he’s proud of, and we’re excited that we got his input.”

From its Newark headquarters, Aqua Science operates internationally. The company provides much of its product and technology to markets in Europe and Mexico, where environmental regulations are tighter than those in the U.S. and water and soil toxicity standards much more stringent.

“We see this technology as a great screening tool that could be used here in the U.S., and we really hope with our new luminometer coming out we’ll be able to reach customers in the U.S. who can use it to do a quick field test and be able to say, ‘Yes, there’s a problem,’ or ‘No, we’re good,’” Evans said. “For us, the passion is really the clean water and soil, so we would like to grow our R&D department and come up with new solutions to the problems not only here in Delaware but that people around the world are facing.”

Delaware Integral to Aqua Science’s Success

Delaware’s strong business foundation has been integral in Aqua Science’s success, she said, not just by providing a home base and a reservoir of talent, but also through direct support like grants and through organizations like Delaware Prosperity Partnership. The company won a Delaware Division of Small Business EDGE Grant in 2021, which Evans said was a crucial turning point in the company’s success.

“It really sort of brought the team together. Everybody was working on it, and we were all excited when we won,” she said. “It was a huge help, especially for a startup company during a pandemic.”

Additionally, the Small Business Development Center helped the firm get a grant for marketing and write a grant proposal for its PFAS project. In view of the environmental challenges being faced globally related to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and water, especially in the United States, Aqua Science will be developing a new technology to monitor these “forever chemicals.” PFAS are found in a wide array of manufactured chemicals used in the creation of nonstick coatings, stain-resistant carpets and firefighting foam, among many others, and are detrimental to human health.

Other help came from Export Delaware, which provided assistance working with trade missions to promote Aqua Science’s products globally. As she’s built the company, Evans has benefitted from an almost entirely female team, a marked departure from her other workplaces.

“It’s very important and refreshing at the same time because in my previous career it was exactly the room full of men and I was the only woman, and it wasn’t always the greatest experience,” she said. “This is different, and I like it. I think it’s a different way of thinking.”

Currently, the Aqua Science team of six includes Evans, a native of Poland, and two women who are first-generation immigrants from India and Colombia. This also adds strength to the company, she said.

“To me it’s such a valuable thing having a diverse workforce,” she said. “It’s that the ideas are coming from different perspectives, it’s the different ways we look at problems. It’s really beneficial to the business.”

The team’s structure also allows Aqua Science to break free from old-fashioned corporate practices less suited for both a 21st century and pandemic-era workplace, she said.

“We spend a lot of time at work, and we all have families, we have lives. And one thing I will always tell employees is family comes first,” Evans said. “If something’s going on at home, let me know, take some time, we’ll figure it out. Take care of whatever you need to take care of. And this is something that my employees have expressed many times, that it’s so nice to come to work not having to worry if something happens.”

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Sumedh Surwade could have launched his chemical startup SAS Nanotechnologies anywhere, including his native India. He chose Delaware.

When Sumedh Surwade was growing up in India, he rarely left his hometown of Mumbai. But since moving to the United States, he’s lived in multiple places, including Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Tennessee. Delaware, however, has been his most extended U.S. address.

“I’ve been here for five years now, and I’m just loving it,” says the Newark resident. Indeed, Surwade likes Delaware so much that in 2017, he founded SAS Nanotechnologies in Wilmington’s Stanton area. SAS stands for “Smart, Advanced, Sustainable.”

The chemical startup is currently developing smart microcapsule technology for various applications, including anticorrosive coatings and biocides.

Delaware’s status as a science-driven hub has made the state an ideal location for the business. But, as he’s learned, there are plenty of other advantages.

Surwade’s route to Delaware started on another continent. As a child, he excelled at math and science, but it wasn’t until he was in middle school that science became a passion. “School projects, such as building a solar farm, got me really excited,” he says.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai, he headed to the United States, where he earned a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas in Dallas. He then earned a doctorate in chemistry and polymer science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and followed that with postdoctoral work at the University of Pittsburgh.

Initially, the young scientist pictured his future as a university research group leader. But while at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Knoxville, Tennessee, he decided to forgo academia and dip his toe into the industry.

In 2015, Surwade took a job at FujiFilm Imaging in New Castle, Delaware, where he developed inks and formulations for inkjet printing applications. At the time, he knew little about the state except the little that he’d gleaned from friends who were University of Delaware graduates. That would soon change.

While working for Fuji, the innovative chemist grew restless. He had so many product ideas with the potential for commercial applications. Chief among them was a polymer that could inhibit corrosion on heavy metal in structures such as vehicles, bridges and industrial machinery.

He felt the timing was right. “Maybe I should be adventurous early in my career as opposed to later on,” he told himself. “Maybe doing something on my own would be more fun.”

In October 2016, Surwade secured lab space in the Delaware Technology Park, where he worked nights and weekends on his research. By the following fall, he was full-time with SAS Nanotechnologies. While developing the product, he still turns to the University of Delaware for specialty equipment that would be too expensive for him to purchase.

Surwade’s technology focuses on environmentally friendly microcapsules that gradually release an agent to heal damaged areas, such as scratches on metal. The agent can also be intentionally triggered. Similarly, these microcapsules could attack the fungus, mold or bacteria that damage materials such as roofs.

Surwade wasn’t the only one to see the advantages. With the Small Business Development Center’s help, he won a $225,000 National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant and the Emerging Enterprise Center’s Swim with the Sharks Pitch Competition. And those awards were just the beginning for the chemical startup.

The funding has been encouraging, but Surwade also has been inspired by the people he has met in Delaware. This includes members of the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA).

“They had so many small workshops and meetings with former DuPont employees — high-level managers and executives,” he recalls. “They were sitting with me and listening to my ideas. It motivated me. Folks here are willing to help you.”

Delaware is known for being a state where it’s easy to network and discover resources. “You always can find someone who knows a key contact at a company,” Surwade agrees.

Since starting SAS Nanotechnologies, Surwade has watched as even more labs, accelerator programs, forums and resources have become available to startups like his.

“It’s a good time for a chemical startup to come to Delaware,” he says. “It’s an exciting time.”

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December 1, 2021 –

It is a classic scene from a TV medical drama. As a surgeon stands over the operating table, a nurse reaches up to dab the doctor’s damp brow. By the time the life-or-death procedure is over, the surgeon is soaked with sweat.

For many physicians, the depiction is all too real. For hours at a time, they wear scrubs, sterile gowns, masks, gloves, hats and other gear that trap warm, humid air against their bodies. Overheating can affect concentration and cause dehydration.

Wilmington-based Desikant Technologies has a solution. Founded in 2019, the startup creates thermoregulation “smart garments,” including a cooling vest that prevents heat exhaustion. The innovation has received encouragement. In April, Desikant Technologies received the top $75,000 prize in the Delaware Innovation Award Category at Startup 302, a funding competition organized by Delaware Prosperity Partnership. The Delaware Division of Small Business provided the funds for the award. In August, the company received an Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion (EDGE) Grant from the division.

The company is the dream of Kwaku Temeng, a former DuPont Co. employee turned entrepreneur. “Since my days at DuPont, there was something in me that wanted to start a company to solve an important problem,” he says. “I knew that one day I would start a venture.”

Born in Ghana, Temeng came to the United States to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and a master’s in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His career with the DuPont Co. brought him to Delaware in the early 1990s. “I haven’t moved away from the state since,” he says.

Indeed, Temeng remained a Delaware resident after becoming the director of innovation for Baltimore-based Under Armour. He continued living in Delaware after joining Dropel Fabrics in New York, an early-stage startup that develops and manufactures performance garments using sustainable natural fabrics, not synthetics.

Commuting by train gave Temeng time to think about how heat stress affects athletes. “Stamina drops quite a bit, and the ability to focus on the activity suffers,” he explains. “When the body can’t cool itself down, there’s the risk of dehydration.”

In mid-2020, Temeng founded Desikant Technologies’ startup. He reached out to Alisa Esposito, an Under Armour colleague who built high-performance garments for Olympic athletes and electronic-integrated apparel. She agreed to be the vice president of technical design. Joel Melnick, an electrical engineer who had built flight-control systems for Boeing and designed devices for surgeons, became the chief technical officer.

The first product is a vest for the surgical market. Worn over scrubs and under the gown, the vest has sensors that detect when the body overheats. Sophisticated electronics in the apparel actively replace the warm, humid air around the body with cool, dry air. The Army bought the initial prototype; the second will be tested in operating rooms. The team will then tackle applications for outdoor activities, such as hiking and running.

The Ideal Location on the East Coast

With the grants, Desikant is looking for office space. “Delaware’s position along the East Coast is ideal,” Temeng says. “It’s near New York’s fashion industry and Baltimore, where there is a community experienced in building high-performance products. There are a bunch of potential partners that make electronics.” Consider the DuPont Co., which has an electronic materials business.

While at DuPont, Temeng once spent up to 80 hours a week on an internet-based project. He remembers the sense of satisfaction – a sentiment he hopes to experience next year when, hopefully, Desikant Technologies’ vest will be available.

“When you bring a solution to market and see people adapt it,” he says, “it’s a wonderful feeling.”

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