The UCLA Scientist Helping to Create the Next Big Climate Startups
Gaurav Sant is focused on spinning out companies to tackle the hardest decarbonization challenges.
Gaurav Sant helms the Institute for Carbon Management, which works on solutions to seemingly intractable climate problems.
Photo courtesy of UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
In the Port of Los Angeles, a set of pumps pushes a steady stream of seawater through what looks like a science fair project on steroids. About 2,000 miles away, in Childersburg, Alabama, an industrial plant is churning out concrete blocks.
These two systems are worlds apart, but they’re united by a common cause: Protecting the climate using futuristic technology. They’re also both run by companies spun out of a lab helmed by a scientist pushing back against university orthodoxy, cranking out climate tech startups instead of articles for academic journals.