The academy announced its 2016 fellows December 13, including more than 94 presidents and senior leaders of research universities, as well as 28 Nobel Laureates.
“Professor Riman’s research in materials science has resulted in two promising start-up companies and has real potential for positively impacting the concrete and ceramics industries,” Christopher J. Molloy, senior vice president for research and economic development at Rutgers, said. “Forward-thinking science like this is important for economic future and we are pleased that Professor Riman is receiving such a prestigious national recognition.”
A resident of Belle Mead and native of Teaneck, Riman was awarded Inventor of the Year by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014. He currently holds more than 10 U.S. patents and patents pending for the “low-temperature solidification” (LTS) process he invented with a former doctoral student, Vahit Atakan, and post-doctoral students Surojit Gupta and Qinghua Li.
The LTS technology is being commercially developed by a company Riman founded, Solidia Technologies Inc., where Atakan serves as chief scientist. Solidia’s investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Bright Capital, BASF, BP, LafargeHolcim, Total Energy Ventures and other private investors. The company employs more than 65 people at its headquarters in Piscataway. The company aims to provide sustainable manufacturing methods and construction materials for building and infrastructure applications. It has licensed numerous patents from Rutgers and has advanced the technology with more than 200 patents worldwide. Solidia has received numerous awards, including R&D Magazine’s R&D 100 in 2013, which recognizes “revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market,” spans industrial, academic and government-sponsored research.
Solidia says its technologies, combined, have the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of cement and concrete products by up to 70 percent. Requiring only modest changes to the processes currently used to make cement and concrete, Solidia’s process, which is more energy- and resource-efficient, makes solids out of packed powders without using a high-temperature kiln or furnace. The process produces innovative materials that offer greater strength and durability.
Riman’s second investor-funded start-up company is RRTC Inc., which is developing advanced composite materials for a myriad of uses. Those include electronic, optical, magnetic, biomedical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, agricultural, electrochemical, energy storage, energy generation, aerospace, automotive, body and vehicle armor, textile and abrasive and cutting applications.
The National Academy of Inventors 2016 Fellows were evaluated by a 19-member committee composed of NAI Fellows, recipients of U.S. National Medals, National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees, members of the National Academies, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Association of American Universities, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association of University Technology Managers, and other prominent organizations.
The 2016 Fellows will be inducted April 6, 2017, as part of the Sixth Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston.
About Rutgers – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a leading national research university. Established in 1766 and celebrating a milestone 250th anniversary in 2016, it is the eighth oldest higher education institution in the nation. More than 69,000 students and 22,000 faculty and staff learn, work and serve the public at sites across New Jersey and around the world. Rutgers–New Brunswick is the state’s only public institution in the prestigious Association of American Universities. Rutgers belongs to the Big Ten Academic Alliance, which comprises 14 world-class research universities. It is among the top 20 public U.S. universities for total R&D funding, and over the past two years has seen a 22 percent increase in research grants and sponsored programs, up to $637.9 million in FY2016. The Office of Research and Economic Development is a central point for industry access and maintains businessportal.rutgers.edu.
About Solidia Technologies® -- Based in Piscataway, N.J. (USA), Solidia Technologies® is a cement and concrete technology company that makes it easy and profitable to use CO2 to create superior and sustainable building and construction materials. Solidia’s patented processes start with a sustainable cement, cure concrete with CO2 instead of water, reduce carbon emissions of cement and concrete up to 70 percent, and recycle 60 to 80 percent of the water used in production. Using the same raw materials and existing equipment as traditional concretes, the resulting CO2-cured concrete products are higher performing, cost less to produce, and cure in less than 24 hours. Currently in commercialization for large- and small-scale applications, Honors include: 2016 Sustainia 100; 2015 NJBiz Business of the Year; 2014 Global Cleantech 100; 2013 R&D Top 100; 2014 Best Place to Work in NJ; 2014 CCEMC Grand Challenge First Round finalist; 2013 Katerva Award finalist; and MIT’s Climate CoLab shortlist. Follow Solidia at http://www.solidiatech.com and on LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter: @SolidiaCO2.
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