Skroot Laboratory Inc., a startup launched by assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering professor Nigel Reuel and incubating at the Carver Co-Lab on the north end of campus, went head to head with other top emerging Iowa businesses in the finals of the 2020 John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition. Skroot Lab was one of two teams that earned an honorable mention award based on the strength of its business plan and progress to date.
Skroot Lab is based on innovations in sensors for closed systems made by Reuel’s Iowa State research group. Skroot’s flagship product is a sensor system that attaches outside of single-use bioreactors and provides real-time, contact-free monitoring of cell density. The product is a shortcut (skrót is Polish for shortcut) for critical process measurements that are currently done by manual sampling.
“It has been amazing to see the progress of the team at Skroot Lab. In roughly 15 months they went from concept to product. I am very excited to see where they go in the next year. It is stiff competition in the JPIEVC and we will be going for the top prize in 2021,” said Reuel.