Rupal is the CEO, President, and cofounder of Nikira Labs. Her technical background is in mechanical engineering with 25+ years of diversified experience. Much of that time was invested in HW product design, manufacturing processes, and operations. Rupal has developed laser-based optical analyzers, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and medical devices. In addition to her technical expertise, Rupal has co-initiated and served as the managing member of several corporations.  Her business acumen has led to many successful ventures and partnerships. Rupal brings this extensive experience and leadership to Nikira Labs with a focus on operations and growth.

Dr. Manish Gupta is the Chief Technology Officer and a cofounder of Nikira Labs. He’s pioneer in the development of optical analytical technologies, having successfully commercialized a variety of cavity-enhanced optical spectrometers, including Off-Axis Incoherent Cavity Output Spectroscopy and Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy.  Manish is an established expert in lasers and optics, as well as various subfields of analytical and environmental chemistry with over 200 peer-reviewed papers, presentations, and book chapters. As a part-owner and Chief Technology Officer of Los Gatos Research, he was responsible for developing, manufacturing, and promoting novel laser-based analyzers to research, industrial, medical, and military customers, including a nitrous oxide analyzer that won the R&D 100 award. In that role, Manish helped grow LGR from a small startup focused on academic research to a successful company that was acquired by ABB in 2013. Dr. Gupta has served as a principal investigator on numerous projects funded by NSF, DOE, NIH, DOD, NASA, EPA, and other federal agencies. He is a member of ACS, OSA, APS, AGU, AAAS and has served as a reviewer for several scientific journals.

Dr. Leen spearheads the product innovation roadmap at Nikira Labs. As the former Director of Research at Los Gatos Research/ABB Silicon Valley, Brian focused on improvements and applications of integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) for the measurement of trace gases and stable isotopes. As part of his work, he has developed and field-deployed instruments to measure trace gases on-board land vehicles, aircraft (DOE G-1, NSF C-130, NASA WB-57), in the deep sea and in the breath of ICU patients (VOC’s). This work has resulted in multiple grant awards, myriad publications, two granted patents, and an R&D100 award. Brian's scientific goal in life is to quantify the physical world using optical measurements and Nikira Labs is his current vehicle to reach this destination throughout the multiple gas sensing innovation projects that he's leading.

With an academic background in environmental toxicology and executive business training, Nabil brings to Nikira Labs 20+ years of experience in scientific instrumentation, applications development, as well as deep insights into the environmental sensing market: from low-cost sensors, mass spectrometry & chromatography techniques, to vehicle-deployable Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometers and their derivatives. In the previous start-up, Nabil was involved in commercializing a near realtime cloud-based benzene detection solution for compliance with the EPA-mandated fenceline monitoring at refineries across the US. At Picarro, Nabil bore witness to the moment when the nascent concept of Advanced Mobile Leak Detection (AMLD) of methane started forming and taking shape following the unfortunate gas distribution line fatal explosion in San Bruno, CA (2010). At Nikira Labs, with a great team and outstanding technology, Nabil is leading the charge to scale the business by capitalizing on the worldwide consensus to significantly reduce methane emissions and improve air quality for all.

Aaron brings to Nikira Labs 20+ years of experience in design and manufacturing of optical and photonics instrumentation. His expertise spans the breadth of product manufacturing from integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzers for the measurement of trace gases and stable isotopes to free-space optical communication applications. At Nikira Labs, Aaron is instrumental in defining the appropriate manufacturing processes for scaling Nikira Labs’ production capacity to meet the pent-up market demand for Nikira’s products.

Andrew is the quarterback of product development engineering at Nikira labs. With a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) from UC Berkeley and an M.Sc. in Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania, Andrew has been an integral part of the Nikira Labs’ product development team since its early days. His life goal is to create a future where robotics is integrated into everyday life to help improve human lives.

Ian brings 10+ years of manufacturing automation experience to Nikira Labs. Previously at Los Gatos Research/ABB Silicon Valley, he was a key contributor in the production team for integrated cavity output spectroscopy (ICOS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzers for the measurement of trace gases and stable isotopes. At Nikira Labs, Ian is key to streamlining the product manufacturing and final tests and qualification for scaling Nikira Labs’ production capacity to meet the pent-up market demand for Nikira’s products.

Grace is the latest addition to the Nikira team. With a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University with an emphasis on material research, Grace is already hard at work in the lab within the Nikira engineering team. When not creatively designing at Nikira Labs, Grace is an avid swimmer, cyclist, runner, and ultimate frisbee player.

Keith has over 30+ years of finance experience across various industries which he brings to Nikira Labs. He has a BS from Bentley University in Accountancy and an MBA from Western New England University. Throughout his career he has been involved in most all of the accounting roles needed to support the financial needs of the businesses. He has worked in large international companies, ( ABB and Alstom Power) to smaller start ups like Nikira. His goal is to support the financial needs of his customers and improve the financial processes across the organization.