Baratunde Cola

Dr. Baratunde Cola, the CEO and Founder of Carbice Corporation, was first inspired by the human potential of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in 1999 while a student-researcher-athlete in mechanical engineering and football at Vanderbilt University. After a brief stint in private business and politics, he finished his Ph.D. studies at Purdue University in 2008 with 25 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications, and quickly became a noted world expert in the fabrication of aligned CNTs and advanced materials applied to energy technology and thermal management. As a tenured professor at Georgia Tech, Bara has published over 100 peer-reviewed research papers and has participated in over 100 speaking engagements. He is the recipient of a number of awards including the 2017 Alan T. Waterman Award, recognizing the nation’s top scientist or engineer under 35 years of age. He has several former students who are now professors at leading universities. Bara is also a member of the distinguished Board of Advisors for the Smithsonian Institute Museum of Natural History.

With his unique life experiences and skill set, Bara has led the growth of Carbice from a small lab in 2011 to a 20,000 square foot headquarters and global production facility in Atlanta, GA — the largest vertically aligned carbon nanotube production center in the world — with a global team. With repeat customers for Carbice Pad™ across key sectors including data, power, and space, Bara and his Carbice team are driving continued innovation in nanotechnology – on earth and beyond.