Karl Kiser

Curriculum Vitae

Summary

Applied biomaterials scientist and research engineer with experience spanning quantitative experimentation, controlled-environment biological systems, custom sensor and control-system development, data-driven process optimization, and mycelium platform development. Co-inventor on aerial-mycelium cultivation IP. First-author scientific publications. Strong translator between lab experimentation, model-based analysis, and manufacturable process improvement.

Experience

Senior Scientist, Research Engineer

Ecovative Design — Green Island, NY

2022 – 2026

Co-inventor on patent application covering growth media compositions and environmental conditions for improved aerial mycelium cultivation
Process development for aerial mycelium production including media optimization, environmental programming, and growth condition tuning
Designed and built novel sensors for closed-loop system control — programming microcontrollers, wiring custom hardware, and integrating real-time sensing into the cultivation environment
Contributed to cultivation platform supporting 25 real-time environmental conditions and AI-model-informed process decisions
Worked at the intersection of strain development, environmental programming, whole-system optimization, and data-rich control of mycelium growth

Research Associate

Department of Radiology, NYU Langone Health & Weill Cornell Medical College — New York, NY

2019 – 2022

First-author publications in Scientific Reports and Tomography on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI methods
Designed and executed quantitative experiments on tumor treatment response using active contrast-encoding MRI
Developed methods for cellular water exchange measurement, pharmacokinetic parameter estimation, and image texture analysis
Presented research at ISMRM (International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine) annual meetings

Skills

Biomaterials & Cultivation

Aerial mycelium cultivation Fungal growth optimization Media design Substrate optimization Environmental programming Controlled-environment experimentation Pilot-scale process development

Quantitative & Analytical

Experimental design (DOE) Statistical analysis Pharmacokinetic modeling Image texture analysis Data-driven process optimization Reproducibility analysis

Instrumentation & Controls

Sensor development Microcontroller programming Hardware integration Closed-loop control Embedded systems Real-time data acquisition

Research & Communication

Scientific writing Peer-reviewed publication Patent documentation Conference presentation Cross-functional collaboration Technical translation

Education

Pitzer College — Claremont, CA

B.A. in Biophysics

2016