Our Team
Team
Speculative Technologies brings together people from a range of disciplines in academia, tech, policy, and beyond.
Interested in joining our team? See Open Positions here.
CEO
Ben Reinhardt
Ben Reinhardt started Speculative Technologies. In the past he has worked at NASA, Bay Area tech companies and VC firms, started a (failed) startup, and helped people start companies in Singapore. He received a PhD in Space Robotics from Cornell University. Find him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Program Lead
Quentin Dudley
Quentin leads the Cell-Free Synthesis program. In the past, he worked at Calyxt on metabolite production and did a postdoc at the Earlham Institute. He has a PhD from Northwestern Universtiy, where he pushed the limits of cell-free protein synthesis. You can find him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Program Lead
Michael Filler
Michael leads the Nanomodular Electronics program. He is also an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech where he works on nanoscale materials for electronics, photonics, and energy. He received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University. You can find him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Program Manager
Eileen Nakahata
Eileen coordinates the Brains Program and provides operational support across the organization. In the past, she has been an environmental technician and ran a climate grants program. You can find her on LinkedIn.
Board of Directors
Kanjun Qiu
Kanjun is the co-founder and CEO of Generally Intelligent — an independent research company developing general-purpose AI agents. Previously, she started several companies and was an early employee at Dropbox.
Board of Directors
Adam Marblestone
Adam is the co-founder and CEO of Convergent Research — a non-profit that starts and runs Focused Research Organizations. Previously, he has worked on brain-computer interfaces, AI, and biophysics with some of the leading researchers in the field.
Advisor
Bridget Baumgartner
Bridget is the director of R&D at Revive and Restore, where she runs coordinated research programs to unlock conservation-focused science and technology. Previously, she worked in DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office.
Advisor
Eli Dourado
Eli is the head of strategic investments at the Astera Institute. Previously he worked at the Abundance Institute, Boom Aerospace, and the Mercatus Center.
Advisor
Sam Rodriques
Sam founded and runs the Applied Biotechnology Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute. He also co-created Focused Research Organizations and invented new technologies for nanofabrication and bio-sensing.
Advisor
Sam Arbesman
Sam is the Scientist-in-Residence at Lux Capital, where he catalyzes ideas that are just on the cusp of possibility. He’s also a widely published writer and a Fellow at both the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Long Now Foundation.
Advisor
Dan Brunner
Sam is a co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Commonwealth Fusion Systems. He now runs Future Tech Partners, a consultancy helping turn science fiction into reality.
