Story courtesy of the News Gazette’s Paul Wood.
On Sundays, staff writer Paul Wood spotlights a high-tech difference maker. This week, meet JAMES LANGER, 36, president of Serionix, which makes high-performance filtration materials for removal of toxic chemicals from air and water, with a large number of customers — from the Army to an appliance maker.
The team
My co-founders are Weihua Zheng and James Economy. Dr. Zheng and I both graduated from Dr. Economy’s research group in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois. Weihua and I met in 2008 when he joined the group, and we just clicked right from the beginning. Our friendship and mutual respect grew over the next several years and eventually led us to start Serionix together. Since starting the company, we have expanded the team to include several additional engineers each with ties to UIUC. Tim Hoerr of Serra Ventures has been a great help to us — influential as both an investor and adviser since the advent of the company.
How did you become an entrepreneur?
I think I have been intrigued by the idea of starting a company ever since I saw my dad start one when I was in middle school. His startup never took off like he’d hoped, but his experience inspired me to see entrepreneurship as a possibility.
To that end, I came to graduate school in 2006 with a vague idea of working with a startup or starting a technology company, but lost that vision somewhere along the way — mostly because I didn’t really know where to start. In January 2011, Weihua and I entered into the Cozad business plan competition on campus and instantly got hooked on entrepreneurship! Through extensive networking and pitching our business concept, we became more connected to the local entrepreneurial community and received a lot of support and feedback to refine our business concept. Over the next year, we generated significant financial support for the business through Small Business Innovation Research grants and extensions of those same grants that have provided over $2 million in total funding that we have used to bring our air filtration technology to a commercial-ready state.
What does your product do that nothing else does?
Our filtration product removes toxic and smelly compounds from air, far more efficiently than conventional products, at a price point three times cheaper. As an added kicker, the filter changes color when it runs out of life to remind a user to replace it.
What’s in the future for Serionix?
We are preparing to bring our product to market in the next year, in applications ranging from electronics cleanrooms to vehicle cabin air filters, residential pet odor removal and beyond. We are currently working with a major appliance manufacturer to design an odor filter for one of their products, and are on the cusp of getting sales and development agreements with several corporate partners.