Nivatha Balendra

Nivatha Balendra started the research at the heart of Dispersa at the age of 17 after being motivated to find an environmentally-friendly solution to oil contamination. She was inspired to start this work after the Lac-Megantic train crash in which millions of gallons of oil were spilled into the rural town. Nivatha collected soil samples across Montreal and began developing her research at L’Institut national de la recherche Scientifique. Her work has garnered numerous scientific awards internationally and she is recognized as a sustainable leader for her work. She has also shared her work and passion for science as a keynote speaker on various stages, such as TEDx and MUSE.

Nivatha has always had one goal with her research: to develop it into a solution that can benefit society. With this in mind, she founded Dispersa in November 2018.