ATLAS Institute PhD candidate Kailey Shara passed her comprehensive exam on August 8. Her work on her dissertation, "Designing New Hardware for Chemical Automation," is overseen by committee members Assistant Professor Carson J. Bruns, Professor Mark Gross, Daniel Szafir, assistant professor of computer science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Associate Professor Gregory Whiting and Professor Eric Bogatin.

רSTRACT: This comprehensive exam proposal outlines our recent work to build new automation hardware for synthetic chemistry labs. Synthetic chemistry drives innovation in countless domains, ranging from life-saving pharmaceuticals to advanced materials for energy harvesting and space exploration. Accelerating the pace of organic synthesis has thus far been challenging to achieve through automation, but this goal is highly anticipated since organic synthesis is often the main R&D bottleneck for many projects. The proposal covers ongoing work in the design and construction of an all-in-one robotic platform for automated chemical synthesis. The goal is to reach a working prototype of a robot that can automatically complete an entire chemical synthesis. 

Originally from Montreal, Canada, Shara studied both chemistry and electrical engineering at Case Western Reserve University before joining the ATLAS Institute in 2018 to pursue her PhD. Advised by Carson Bruns, director of the Laboratory for Emergent Nanomaterials, her research focus includes the synthesis of artificial molecular machines, as well as engineering systems for laboratory automation. Her startup company, Chembotix, has won numerous awards including first place in the 2022  New Venture Challenge (NVC) championship. 

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Kailey Shara

Two teams associated with the ATLAS Institute received awards at the 2022 New Venture Challenge (NVC) 15 Female Founders Prize Night held March 9 at Imig Music.

​Kailey Shara, an ATLAS PhD student and a member of the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, and her team won third place and $1,000 for Chembotix robotic automation platform, which is designed to dramatically speed up chemistry research and development. 

As a three-time NVC participant, Chembotix was named the first-place winner at last year's NVC Female Founder Prize Night and received the Audience Favorite award at the 2021 championships. Shara also secured two first-place wins associated with ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder's New Venture Launch class ($11,500) taught by Jeff York, associate professor in the Leeds School of Business, and funded by the Robert & Kathleen Dobkin Intuitive Foundation.

Chembotix’s AutoSynth technology is based on Shara’s laboratory automation research. Developed by Shara in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Carson Bruns, the robot automates many of the tedious steps involved in synthesizing new molecules.

Annie Margaret

Annie Margaret, a teaching assistant professor with the ATLAS Institute, and her team placed fourth with Digital Wellness x NoSo November. Digital Wellness aims to help teens build self-esteem and develop skills to manage anxiety and social pressures by promoting an oasis away from social media pressures. In tandem, the NoSo “No Social Media” November campaign encourages everyone to take a month away from their phones and use that time to tend to personal wellness. 

Margaret investigates the efficacy of specific psychotechnologies and contemplative practices as tools to counteract the negative impact of social media on our mental health and well-being. She is especially interested in social media’s effect on young women. Research suggests that this demographic has various negative mental health outcomes related to life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety. In a, researchers stated that the surge in social media use may be at least in part to blame for the rise in suicide rates in adolescent females, which rose 151 percent from 2009 to 2019, in stark contrast to fairly consistent rates previously (1999-2009).
 
To address some of the underlying issues behind these disturbing trends, Margaret created Digital Wellness Summer Programs for middle-school girls ages 12-15, and a second group for high school girls, ages 16-18 that provides strategies adolescents can use to minimize the negative psychological impacts of social media. She and her team have spent the last year conducting focus groups with young women to investigate the effectiveness of various practices and to inform curriculum development, which they will use to make it more effective. The program is funded by a Community Impact Grant through ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder’s Office for Outreach & Engagement.

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Eight PhD students affiliated with the ATLAS Institute recently received Graduate School awards to support their outstanding research and creative work. 

Katie Gach received a summer fellowship, providing a summer stipend to support her dissertation research on how people manage post-mortem social media data.

Keke Wu received the Ray Hauser award to support her data accessibility research. For her pioneering work, Wu recently won a Best Paper award from the 2021 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, the premier international conference on Human-Computer Interaction. Wu is also a member of the VisuaLab.

Fiona Bell received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant. Bell, who took home a top award from the 15th ACM International Conference on Tangible Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) Student Design Challenge for her  project, is a member of the Living Matter Lab. She also completed a prestigious internship with , assisting with the development of self-cleaning textiles.

Kailey Shara, a researcher in the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant for her research on laboratory automation systems. Shara recently took home top awards from both NVC14 and the New Venture Launch class for her laboratory automation startup, Chembotix.

Dreycey Albin, an affiliated ATLAS student and a researcher in the Living Matter Lab, received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant.

Gabriella Johnson and Varsha Koushik, affiliated ATLAS students and researchers in the Superhuman Computing Labs, were donor award recipients; Koushik also received the Hope Schultz Jozsa Award and a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant.

Sasha Novack, a researcher in the Living Matter Lab, received a Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant.

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[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukfsupePkOM]

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Update April 15, 2021: Kailey Shara, ATLAS PhD student and a researcher in the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, won the NVC 14 Audience Choice Award detailed below, adding $1,000 to the $11,000 she has raised for her startup, Chembotix, over the last month.

Kailey Shara,  ATLAS PhD student and a member of the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, and Darren Sholes, ATLAS PhD student and a member of the ACME Lab, will compete along with others for the Audience Choice Award. Both Shara and Sholes won highly competitive NVC14 awards recently, with Shara taking home $5,000 during the New Venture Challenge 14 Female Founder Prize after presenting her research, Chembotix, a robotic automation platform to dramatically speed up chemistry research and development.  Sholes won first place in NVC's newcomer competition, walking away with $5,000 for LoopSketch, a program that makes it possible for musicians to remotely collaborate.

During the online event, six other finalists will also pitch their business ideas online to a panel of judges and an audience for the opportunity to win more than $100,000 in prizes.  To make it to the NVC 14 Championships (NVC skipped 13 for superstition's sake), the six startup finalists competed in two previous competition rounds against more than 110 ventures that took part in this year's program.

ATLAS students who have successfully competed in past NVCs include the EdBoard Technologies team co-led by Cody Candler, MS-CTD '20, and Ruhan Yang, MS-CTD student, winning fourth place and taking home $12,500 in NVC 12. Ted Thayer, MS-CTD student, and two team members won fourth place and $7,500 at the NVC 11. 

For 13 years, the NVC has been ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder’s premier, cross-campus entrepreneurial program and competition, giving aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to build a startup through outstanding support and mentorship. Participants represent majors and departments from across the university. From undergraduates to graduates, PhD candidates to postdocs, and faculty to staff, everyone is invited to pitch their idea or watch and support.

Register Now to watch the NVC 14 Championships!

When: Tuesday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: via Zoom

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Kailey Shara, ATLAS PhD student and a member of the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, won $17,500 from three ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder business competitions, including New Venture Challenge 14, for Chembotix, a startup offering a chemical automation robot to accelerate chemistry research and the discovery of new molecules. 

Shara won first place at the NVC14 ($5000) and the NVC14 Championship Audience Choice Award ($1000). She also secured two first-place wins associated with ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder's New Venture Launch class ($11,500) taught by Jeff York, associate professor in the Leeds School of Business, and funded by the .

"For a fully remote team that was almost entirely assembled during the pandemic, it's an exciting moment for us to see our work starting to pay off," Shara said. "Chembotix is based on my PhD work at the ATLAS Institute, so this win also helps to validate a problem I care deeply about—widespread adoption of laboratory automation.”

The prize money will be used to pay for materials to finalize the team's prototype hardware, she said.

Through Chembotix, Shara is developing a robotic automation platform to dramatically speed up chemistry research and development. Shara’s laboratory automation research is the premise for the company, and Shara is the company's CEO.  

Kailey Shara

The company has received support from VEX Robotics, and ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder students are assisting with mechanical, electrical and software engineering. Chembotix's first provisional patent is in progress with Venture Partners and a second is on the way. 

This is Shara's second time as an NVC participant: Last year she and her advisor, Carson Bruns, made it to the semifinals. This year her team has expanded to include eight teammates and three advisors, Robert Dobkin, founder of the Intuitive Foundation, Kevin Noble, founder of Red Rock Rebels, and Bruns.

For 14 years, the New Venture Challenge has been ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder’s premier, cross-campus entrepreneurial program and competition, giving aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to build a startup through outstanding support and mentorship. Participants represent majors and departments from across the university. 

NVC connects the ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder campus with the Boulder community to develop and fund innovative ideas. Participants attend year-round events, network and collaborate with mentors to refine their ideas and form startup teams to pitch for funding (up to $100,000!) at the NVC Championships.

The goal of the New Venture Launch class is to translate an existing product, service or opportunity into a real, functioning venture. Over the course of the semester, New Venture Launch teams have been competing for more than $25,000 in non-equity funding. The Robert & Kathleen Dobkin Intuitive Foundation, which is providing the funding, pairs up “young, bright entrepreneurs in business and science to help them achieve greatness together.”

Shara emphasized that she hopes her success will inspire more women to enter entrepreneurship. “There are many brilliant women out there who can and will achieve great things through their work,” she said. “Always put yourself out there. You never know when an idea in a lab can become something more.”

ATLAS students who have successfully competed in past NVCs include the team co-led by Cody Candler, MS-CTD '20, and Ruhan Yang, MS-CTD student, winning fourth place and taking home $12,500 in NVC 12. Ted Thayer, MS-CTD student, and two team members won fourth place and $7,500 at the NVC 11. 

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Kailey Shara is the CEO of Chembotix, a company that is developing a robotic automation platform to dramatically speed up chemistry research and development. As a second-time NVC participant–last year she and her advisor, Carson Bruns, made it to the semifinals–she's immersed herself in ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder's innovation ecosystem to help get her startup off the ground. Her ChemBot research is the premise for the company. This year her team includes eight teammates and two advisors.

Q: What is your startup or business idea? How did you come up with your business idea? What inspired you? 

KS: Chemistry is a foundational science for many other disciplines. From pharmaceutical drugs to new materials, technological progress depends on the products of the chemical sciences. Chemistry research is, however, held back by the tedious labor required to synthesize new molecules. While pursuing my undergrad degrees in electrical engineering and chemistry, the engineer in me was struck by how manual most chemistry research still is. Frustrated by this reality, I decided to build my PhD around addressing the key technical challenges holding back the development of chemistry automation systems. Chembotix was born from this research in order to bring these nascent technologies to market.

Q: What ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder academic courses and entrepreneurial resources have you taken advantage of to help you build your business idea or startup? 

KS: In addition to completing two customer discovery programs through  (Research-to-Market and Starting Blocks), Chembotix will be one of several startups participating in the , hosted by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. I strongly recommend all of these programs to other ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ startups, as well as the frequent workshops and presentations hosted by Venture Partners. Finally, the private company VEX Robotics, in partnership with the , has been supporting my research. Private companies love to help students incubate and develop ideas that may one day be commercialized; you never know who might be able to help you unless you ask!

ATLAS students have successfully competed in past NVCs, including the team co-led by Cody Candler, MS-CTD '20, and Ruhan Yang, MS-CTD student, winning fourth place and taking home $12,500 in NVC 12. Ted Thayer, MS-CTD student, and two team members won fourth place and $7,500 at the NVC 11. Registration for NVC 14 closes Jan. 29. 

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