VCU Innovator of the Year is ‘proof of pathway’ to success for physicists

By Jeff Kelley

When he learned he was selected as VCU's 2024 Billy R. Martin Innovator of the Year, physics professor Massimo Bertino, Ph.D., was met with more surprise than most honorees.

Physicists, he noted, aren't recognized nearly as often as peers in engineering or medicine. In fact, Bertino is the first physicist to earn the Innovator of the Year in the 17-year history of the award.

"Recognizing physicists as a success story doesn't happen all the time," said Bertino, a professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences and director of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Ph. D. Program. "Everybody thinks of physicists as the people wearing mismatched socks and having wild theories and doing experiments all day, but we get down to earth and we get things done."

And the proof is in Bertino's career-long translational research into aerogels. First used by NASA in the 1960s, aerogels are a type of porous solid that have long been accepted as the world's best insulators. Bertino's intellectual property has been licensed by a startup company, ThermaGEL Innovations, that is working to commercialize the products at a large scale.

The problem: Traditional aerogels are expensive and rather dangerous to make. An onerous step in existing production is a process known as supercritical drying, which pumps carbon dioxide into a high-pressure reactor, called an autoclave, to remove fluids from the pores of the wet gel. Explosions are possible if not done properly.

Bertino and his team found a way to bypass that expensive and potentially explosive procedure, producing aerogels more easily, at less cost and more safely using readily available chemicals and traditional processes. Its methods are protected by VCU TechTransfer and Ventures.

"Max has done something that is very hard to do in physics, which is to use science to create not only a product, but something that can really change the world," said Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., assistant vice‌ president ‌for‌ ‌innovation‌ at VCU TechTransfer and Ventures, whose office bestows the Innovator of the Year award. "We are pleased to present the Innovator of the Year Award to Dr. Bertino, whose technology has broad versatility and strong interest worldwide to improve safety and energy efficiency in the production of thermal insulation."

Working with ThermaGEL, a new VCU spin-off company, Bertino has created a method for large-scale aerogel manufacturing, now undergoing testing at the company's headquarters in downtown Richmond's Virginia Bio+Tech Park (his own lab is on the Monroe Park Campus). These aerogels are thinner, lightweight, flame-proof and moisture proof and are far superior to conventional insulation materials, he said, and offer the same insulation value as expanded styrofoam insulation board (common in homes and commercial construction), but at one-fifth of the thickness. Bertiono believes the improved insulation could heavily reduce greenhouse gas emissions once production starts.

Bertino's partner in ThermaGEL is VCU chemist Everett Carpenter, Ph.D., who has known Bertino (who goes by Max) since the physicist joined the university in 2007.

"Max is an exceptional researcher, consistently discovering innovative methods to integrate established proven technologies into truly innovative solutions for today's challenges," said Carpenter, who is also a professor in the College of Humanities and Sciences' Department of Chemistry and co-directs the nanotech doctoral program with Bertino. "His ability to devise practical and scalable solutions is truly remarkable and part of the reason we formed ThermaGEL to begin manufacturing this revolutionary insulation for the commercial and residential building markets."

Catherine Ingrassia, Ph.D., dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, said Bertino's selection as Innovator of the Year "marks a watershed moment in how we recognize scientific advancement at VCU."

"While breakthroughs in medicine and engineering often capture the spotlight, his truly significant work reminds us that transformative innovation spans the full spectrum of human inquiry," Ingrassia said. "His research revolutionizing the production of aerogels - making what was once a dangerous, expensive process into something safer and more commercially viable - demonstrates how fundamental physics can directly improve manufacturing and sustainability. Just as important, this recognition signals to our entire academic community that groundbreaking work knows no disciplinary bounds. Innovation flourishes wherever bold thinking challenges convention."

Indeed, Bertino's work is part of a broad and fast-growing research enterprise at VCU. The fiscal year eclipsed $500 million in sponsored research funding for the first time; the 2024 total of $506 million represents the sixth consecutive year of record-setting funding, and reflects an 86% increase over six years and 9% over last year. The rapid growth of VCU's research enterprise continues the university's growing national distinction as a top urban, public research university.

From left: P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D., vice president for research and innovation; Massimo Bertino, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Physics in the College of Humanities and Sciences; Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., assistant vice president for innovation at VCU TechTransfer and Ventures; and Fotis Sotiropoulos, Ph.D., VCU provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, at the Innovator of the Year ceremony on Nov. 21 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. (Photo by Clement Britt)

"I extend my congratulations to Dr. Bertino for his innovative research and the important translational work for which he is being recognized as the Innovator of the Year," said P. Srirama Rao, Ph.D, vice president for research and innovation. "Dr. Bertino's research is among the innovations that are putting VCU on the map, and it is important we bring attention to the critical work being done by physicists and other scientists in the College of Humanities & Sciences. Congratulations to Max and his team."

Bertino said that while he appreciates the Innovator of the Year Award, he mostly hopes it inspires students with interests in physics to pursue their goals and realize the discipline can make for a "viable pathway to success."

He encourages students to "keep an eye on what the research can be used for. Otherwise, it gets lost in an ivory tower, and you get lost in the clouds," Bertino said. "You have to keep your feet on the ground and keep asking yourself: 'What is this work good for? How can it improve and be used by society? How can it elevate the status of the university?'"

"VCU, and TechTransfer and Ventures specifically, has really given us the experts and guidance to help us understand what is required to bring our aerogel materials to market," he said. "VCU has given me the freedom to realize my dreams."

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