Orianna Bretschger received a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Northern Arizona; and after a career in aerospace and government consulting, she found her way to water while completing a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California.
Orianna Bretschger received a B.S. in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Northern Arizona; and after a career in aerospace and government consulting, she found her way to water while completing a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California. During her graduate work, she studied how microbes remove pollutants from water and produce electricity at the same time. In 2008, Dr. Bretschger joined the J. Craig Venter Institute in San Diego where she expanded her research in this area and began developing technologies for distributed wastewater treatment. Her research has resulted in 34 journal articles, 3 book chapters, and 11 patent filings. In 2016, Dr. Bretschger founded Aquacycl LLC with her partners. Aquacycl now provides the only modular, plug-and-play, systems for cost-effectively treating high-strength wastewaters generated from the food and beverage industry.
