OUR TEAM

---

CEO, Founder

Sarah's vision for Root Applied Sciences is to distill excellent science into easy-to-interpret products that deliver immediate value to customers. Her background as the scientist at two microbe-centric startups informs the company's strategic development of new products.

Sarah has a BA in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from UC Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy and Management where she focused on microbial ecology and soil biogeochemistry. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State's Kellogg Biological Field Station, and later at the Ecology and Soils unit of INRA in Montpellier, France, compliments of an Agreenskills Fellowship through the Marie Curie Foundation.

Senior Scientist

Tuesday is thrilled to bring her knowledge of agricultural microbial ecology to Root Applied Sciences. She is passionate about translating research into sustainable agricultural methods and products. She is eager to chat with customers and provide them with actionable information.

Tuesday recently completed her PhD in microbiology at UC Berkeley, using metagenomics and microbiological lab techniques to study how drought impacts the root microbiome of cereal crops. Prior to working at Root, Tuesday worked for microbiome start-up GALT as an Applications Scientist, cultivating bacteria from a wide array of environments. She is excited to continue working with engineers to convert laboratory processes into automated magic. 

Head of Engineering

Andrew is excited to bring his experience in hardware startups and product strategy to Root. Previous co-founder of Dash Robotics, he has led the development and launch of several mass-market consumer robotics products, including Kamigami - an educational robot for children, which sold hundreds of thousands of units .

Andrew completed his PhD in biomechanical engineering at UC Berkeley, researching bio-inspired robotic systems and controllable adhesive materials, publishing 14 peer reviewed articles.  More recently, Andrew has been consulting with Ag Tech robotics startups, developing proof-of-concept prototypes for various automation tasks in both row-crop and specialty greenhouse operations.

Science Advisor, Co-Founder

Rodrigo has devoted his career to understanding pathogens of vineyards and other perennial crops. He has been engaged in the biology, ecology and management of plant pathogens for over 20 years. Rodrigo decided to found this company to help the science in his laboratory reach the people who can benefit from it.

The Hildebrand-Laumeister Chair of Plant Pathology at UC Berkeley, Professor Almeida has been the recipient of Fulbright and Marie Curie Fellowships as well as the early career award from the American Phytopathological Society. Current research in the Almeida group focuses on the ecology and management of grapevine leafroll-associated viruses and Xylella fastidiosa diseases, especially Pierce's disease of grapevines.

Strategy Advisor, Board Member

Heather sees in Root what she wishes every startup had - a talented, motivated team that does the hard work of learning,  an important, solvable problem, and product-market fit.

Heather's experience extends from molecular diagnostics through agricultural research to startup aficionada. As co-founder of three successful startups, Heather understands the journey, strategic milestones, and how to get there.

Agribusiness Advisor

Tom is excited about Root's technology and the opportunity it creates in agriculture, building at the intersection of precision agriculture and sustainability. Tom has spent his career in the agribusiness space and is happy to help shepherd Root through it.

Tom's experience runs the gamut, from leading precision farming at Zeneca Ag Products North America to senior leadership roles in marketing and business development at Syngenta and Synthetic Genomics. Tom also has deep startup experience having worked with several nascent companies and having taken Agradis from formation through sale to Monsanto.

Aerobiology Advisor

Jon is experienced in working with molecular biologists, engineers, farmers, and extension professionals on multidisciplinary crop protection projects. His research has focused on the biology and control of crop diseases and particularly the detection of airborne spores to forecast disease risk. 

Jon sees the work of Root Applied Sciences as a key factor in transforming crop

protection to reduce disease risk for growers and optimize inputs, while ensuring a secure food supply.