About Shantonio
Dr. Shantonio Birch is a mechanical engineer, energy entrepreneur, and National GEM Consortium fellow whose work spans advanced materials, thermal energy storage, and workforce innovation in urban innovation, clean tech, and semiconductor manufacturing. A National GEM Consortium Fellow and former researcher at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Dr. Birch earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, following a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. While in his role as the CEO & Founder of ThermoVerse, he has raised $1,261,649 in non-dilutive grants that has resulted in 1 USPTO patent issued and an award-winning workforce development initiative targeting early-career professionals in the energy sector.
About ThermoVerse
ThermoVerse is an urban innovation startup tackling the high energy cost associated with AI integration in frontline communities with its patented LATCHES (Large-Area Transactive Cooling & Heat Energy Storage) technology, grid-dispatchable heat absorbing ceiling tiles that redirect energy consumption from the largest energy consuming asset in buildings - the HVAC system. The company has raised $1.2 M in significant non-dilutive funding, secured 2 U.S. patent (with international filings), generated early revenue through a paid pilot, and is preparing for large-scale field trials, positioning itself as a scalable behind-the-meter thermal storage solution in a market with over 21 billion square feet of retrofit potential.