Doug Speight is helping clean up PFAS on military bases

The scale of the PFAS problem is mind-blowing. More than 750 U.S. military installations alone have been proven to be contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, says Doug Speight, the CEO of AxNano, which develops and deploys equipment platforms to restore and improve water contaminated by PFAS.

Sometimes known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are synthetic chemicals used in various products, including cookware, food packaging and firefighting foams. They’ve also been found in another 12,000 industrial sites across the U.S.

“The challenges right now are the pervasiveness of the contamination … but that excites me as well because big problems, big societal issues are what drive us in the company,” says Speight, the latest guest in the video series “North Carolina Innovators You Should Know,” hosted by Eshelman Innovation Executive Director John Bamforth.

Through its video series, Eshelman Innovation introduces viewers to UNC-Chapel Hill innovators, as well as innovators, like Speight, at other institutions and companies.

“A rich ecosystem of innovation exists in North Carolina,” Bamforth says. “This video series shines a light on trailblazers across the state.”

Thank you to the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media for filming this interview at the Curtis Media Center.