Today we have a dual guest episode with Husband & Wife duo, Steve & Beth McDaniel. They have a background in the paint and coatings industry where they have been finding ways to make paints and coatings do something other than just decorate and protect their surface.
Their latest innovation is a way to create surfaces that act as carbon capture the same way Blue Algae does. The surfaces can be mass deployed to capture gigatons of carbon to remove carbon from the air permanently at scale.
Their company is called Reactive solutions, they are the recent winners of a CarbonX Prize to help Bulgaria test out their solution.
Shaunie interviews Beth McDaniel, a successful entrepreneur and C-suite executive, discussing her unexpected entry into the paint industry and offering advice for those pursuing a career in STEM. They explore Beth’s company Reactive Surfaces, which specializes in innovative paints for paint companies and auto manufacturers through technology development and licensing. The conversation also touches on the challenges of integrating biology into the traditional paint industry and the company’s efforts to address climate change through their technology.
Shaunie interviews Beth McDaniel, a successful entrepreneur and C-suite executive, discussing her unexpected entry into the paint industry and offering advice for those pursuing a career in STEM. They explore Beth’s company Reactive Surfaces, which specializes in innovative paints for paint companies and auto manufacturers through technology development and licensing. The conversation also touches on the challenges of integrating biology into the traditional paint industry and the company’s efforts to address climate change through their technology.
In 2001, following the 911 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings, our founder, Steve McDaniel contemplated whether an enzyme capable of detoxifying organophosphorous pesticides could actually detoxify organophosphorous nerve weapons. He discovered that once it was entrained and stabilized in a coating system, that indeed the enzyme was functional against nerve weapons and remained functional for periods of time. Thus arose our first product…a bioengineered additive capable of constantly and consistently decontaminating and/or remediating chemical and biological threat agents. Today, Reactive Surfaces is developing enzyme- and peptide-based additives for self-cleaning surfaces, biocidal surfaces, mold-inhibiting surfaces, deodorizing surfaces, textiles with reactive coatings, self-healing coatings and catalytic column coatings for liquid and gaseous waste-stream decontamination. Reactive Surfaces develops these products from the proof-of-concept phase all the way to the shelf for its clients; products that will provide a healthier and better lifestyle for millions of people all around the globe.
An August 2022 study from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications found that 64% of Americans say they are “at least ‘somewhat worried’ about global warming and climate change, and 30% say they are “very worried” about it. In addition, 65% think that global warming will “harm people in the U.S.,” and over half, 51%, think it will harm their own family. Beth McDaniel, JD is co-founder and President of the award-winning paint and coatings company, Reactive Surfaces where she also serves as legal counsel. She is also a partner in McDaniel and Associates, a law firm specializing in patent and trade secret law. Her legal practice is focused on contracts, business administration, innovation, and entrepreneurship. As a serial entrepreneur, she has guided this bleeding-edge innovation company, operating in the paint and coatings and specialty chemicals industries, for the past 15 years. She has served in leadership roles for numerous organizations, including serving as a Pathways to Peace Fellow, a premier social justice organization. Her work in human rights and social justice brings a level of experience and intention to ensure that any climate solution has at its heart environmental justice and enhancement of human rights and personal livelihood.