C. Mike Lindsey<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u201908, \u201909 (T5) was looking for a way to apply his knowledge of animals and biological systems that would have a greater impact.<\/p>\nHe discovered it as cofounder of an urban agriculture start-up company.<\/p>\n
The company, NexLoop, is the producer of AquaWeb, a system that can be retrofitted onto buildings and that emulates spider webs and cacti to harness rain and fog for use in urban farms. Last fall, NexLoop was awarded $100,000 in seed money at the Bioneers Conference in San Francisco after winning the Biomimicry Institute\u2019s Global Design Challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking a whole systems approach to the local-food conversation,\u201d says Lindsey, who lives in Brooklyn. \u201cWhere does your water come from? What if, even in a desert, we could think about irrigation as little as we think about breathing?\u201d<\/p>\n
Municipal water is cheap, but there are problems in New York City and many other cities with outdated sewer systems. \u201cIf it rains, the streets are flooded within 10 minutes, causing debris to flow directly into surrounding waterways,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Creating soil-based green roofs and other absorptive infrastructure soaks up water and harnesses a free resource for urban farmers. \u201cIt also allows an off-the-grid farmer in rural Montana to gather their own water for less than the cost of a well,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
Lindsey is accustomed to thinking broadly, and to making connections across disciplines that might elude others. During his sophomore year at Rochester, the Wisconsin native created an interdisciplinary major called \u201cintegrative neurobiology,\u201d studying the biological and neurological factors contributing to animal behavior and cognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started taking classes in brain and cognitive sciences and psychology and got pulled into the neuroscience world,\u201d he says. He spent a fifth year completing a Take Five program called \u201cUnderstanding Bilingual Representation,\u201d in which he analyzed how language is organized in the brain.<\/p>\n
His Take Five advisor was Jeffrey Runner, a professor of linguistics and now dean of the College.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember C. Mike as someone who was very creative and very outgoing,\u201d Runner says. \u201cHe got the most out of his Rochester experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindsey had long wanted to be a veterinarian, and sought experience in the field after graduation. In roles at veterinary hospitals and zoos, \u201cI helped with everything from diabetic cats, to dogs hit by cars, to an anteater\u2019s endoscopy, and even autopsies on endangered species like a clouded leopard and a maned wolf,\u201d he says. The work fascinated him, but \u201cit\u2019s a stressful field and really tough emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not one to limit his pursuits, Lindsey was at the same time following Brooklyn Grange\u2014the largest soil-based rooftop farm in the world\u2014on Instagram. In 2015, he added an apprenticeship there to his routine, as a change of pace.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was idyllic, and a stark contrast to stressful days in the emergency room,\u201d he says. \u201cAt 5 a.m., I\u2019d watch the sun rise over the New York skyline while picking tomatoes and salad greens in the middle of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
A friend from Rochester connected Lindsey with Jacob Russo, a recent Carnegie Mellon graduate who is completing a master\u2019s program in biomimetic architecture in Germany. They teamed with Anamarija Frankic, an ecology research professor in Croatia who specializes in coastal water ecosystems. NexLoop was formed.<\/p>\n
Lindsey\u2019s life course\u2014from Rochester to veterinary work to his role at NexLoop, focused on business and customer development\u2014may seem like it\u2019s taken twists and turns. And yet, some basic elements have been pretty constant. \u201cThe common thread in all of this,\u201d he says, \u201cis that I really enjoy using different perspectives to improve systems.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1558455558099{border-top-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;border-top-color: #999999 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”]<\/p>\n
\u2014 Jim Mandelaro<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]This story originally appeared in the winter 2018 issue of Rochester Review<\/a>.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After working in veterinary medicine for seven years, C. Mike Lindsey \u201908, \u201909 (T5) was looking for a way to apply his knowledge of animals and biological systems that would have a greater impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":4192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[272,172,212,132,182],"class_list":["post-4122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profiles","tag-alumni","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-new-york-city","tag-rochester-review","tag-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n
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