Shivang Dave - moderator

Shivang R. Dave, PhD, is an Arc’teryx Boston store ambassador and is a co-founder and CEO of PlenOptika, Inc., biomedical technologist, and social-impact entrepreneur. Building on a research career in bioengineering, synthetic chemistry, nanotechnology, biomedical imaging, global health, and entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley, University of Washington, Seattle, UW Foster School of Business Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as a Madrid–MIT M+Visión Fellow he co-invented a breakthrough technology to vastly expand access to vision care and eyeglasses globally. The QuickSee handheld autorefractor commercialized by PlenOptika, a mission-driven company, has been used on more than 2 million patients in 25 countries since its launch in 2018. Prior to his efforts at PlenOptika, Shivang innovated and helped commercialize two separate biomedical technologies, each expressing his passion for thoughtful design and healthcare innovation. He enjoys sharing his experiences through mentorship, meditating on philosophy and the arts, and sharing adventures with friends in the outdoors.

Charlie Matlack - panelist

Charlie Matlack co-founded PotaVida, a Seattle-based startup that developed a sunlight-driven household water purifier coupled with cloud-based usage tracking for non-profit aid organizations. PotaVida originated from an Engineers Without Borders design project, and the product commercialization process took Charlie to Haiti, Uganda, and Somaliland for field trials and user feedback. Charlie is passionate about better understanding the effective roles of engineering design and startup ventures in advancing social and environmental missions.

Prior to starting PotaVida, he engaged in research projects in autonomous robotics and brain-computer interfaces. His current role is as a systems engineering technical lead at Cruise, a San Francisco-based company working to bring an all-electric self-driving taxi service to market.

An avid outdoors enthusiast, Charlie enjoys hydrofoil windsurfing, mountaineering, cycling, skiing, and other activities available in the Seattle area, whether it's rainy or cloudy.

Pratik Gupta - panelist

Pratik Gupta has always followed his passion for technology to bring about change. He has channeled that energy most recently into Strom Motors, a company he co-founded.  In his role, he particularly enjoys the teamwork involved in creating a product that will allow the company to expand as a manufacturer of future-ready electric cars. He and his team have faced many challenges over the last five years, but the determination has paid off. They are looking forward to seeing their cars zipping through the cities of India, and maybe other countries in the near future.

Prior to starting his own company, Pratik worked as an Embedded Systems Engineer at Techno-Sciences, a research and development company near Washington, DC.  It was at Techno-Sciences that he worked on many types of technologies and solutions for a variety of organizations, including NASA, the U.S. Army and Navy, and the Department of Homeland Security. Working in a small team, he learned critical skills that provided a solid overview on how a tech business functions. 

He decided to move back to India in 2012 and started E14 Technologies where they worked on RnD and product development for large scale Solar power plants. He relishes working with small teams and passionate individuals that can accomplish any goal that they set their eyes on. 

 Arc'teryx Design input

We are excited to include anecdotes from the Arc'teryx design team on using design for good and how we bring together stakeholders to better inform the design process.