Meet our Scientist Entrepreneurs
Scientists get funding for one year to achieve proof of product. After that, they have a choice: start a business or open source their findings - both with our support.
Our current scientist entrepreneurs are:
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Dr. Thijs Varkevisser, since July 2026
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Dr. Ali Azakbakht, since September 2025
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Dr. Ignacio Reyes Raffo, since March 2025
Dr. Thijs Varkevisser
“After finishing my Master’s in Physics, I pursued a PhD in experimental fluid dynamics. My research focused on the physics behind the formation and impact of droplets.
In agriculture, fine spray droplets smaller than 100 micrometers blow away in the wind. This so-called drift is detrimental to both the environment and human health. That is why optimizing spray efficiency is not just an agricultural engineering problem, but a matter of public health.
As a scientist-entrepreneur at Wfront my goal is to make agricultural spraying more efficient and environmentally safe. To achieve this, I must tackle two conflicting physical challenges: minimizing drift without making the droplets so large that they bounce off water-repellent crop leaves.
At times, science can be detached from real-world problems. The great thing about this project is that it allows me to work on pressing challenges facing farmers today, all over Europe. That makes it both fun and valuable.
My ultimate goal is to build the perfect nozzle that strictly produces 300-micrometer drops. Normally, fluid physics makes this kind of precision incredibly difficult. To solve this, we are designing a novel nozzle that essentially 'steers' physics in our favor. By actively guiding how the fluid breaks apart, we can enhance the uniform droplet formation we want and suppress the random fragmentation we do not. At Wfront, I will test this concept and work on the first prototype of this nozzle.
The best thing about Wfront is that it allows me as a scientist to put all these ideas I have into practice, to fully focus on this challenge, and – if successful – start a business out of it.”
Dr. Ali Azadbakht
“We live in the age of AI, where open data and code have reshaped how we live and work. We now have tools that can think, write, and calculate faster than ever. But I believe there is a missing part to this picture. If we want the world to truly benefit from these new technologies, we don’t just need better algorithms; we need better control over the instruments that feed them.
That is my mission at Wavefront. I want to do for scientific hardware what the open-source community did for AI: make it transparent, accessible, and collaborative.
This drive comes from my roots. I grew up in a country under heavy international sanctions. It was a difficult situation: we didn’t support the government’s actions, yet we—the ordinary people—were the ones who faced the consequences. We couldn’t just buy the tools we needed; we had to make them ourselves. That experience taught me that if you want a tool to exist, you can’t wait for permission or access—you have to invent it yourself.
Now, I’m applying that creativity to microscopy. One of my projects at WFront is an open-source optical tweezers: a microscope setup that uses focused laser light to hold and move tiny objects. I am building instruments that allow independent researchers and citizen scientists to explore the invisible world without the barrier of cost.
By opening up the “black box” of hardware, I hope to add a new piece to the puzzle of science—showing that innovation shouldn’t be limited by politics or budget, but only by your curiosity.”
Dr. Ignacio Reyes Raffo
“I trained as a theoretical physicist to understand Nature at its most fundamental level. During my PhD and early postdoctoral years, I worked on black holes and quantum mechanics—an intellectually intense and formative period.
Over time, however, I began to feel a growing distance between elegant theory and observable reality. While the research was strong, it had drifted far from experimentation and application, and the academic system left little room for risk or genuinely new directions.
A course on space entrepreneurship—followed by direct engagement within ESA networks—shifted that perspective. For the first time, I saw a pathway to translate first-principles thinking — in particles, waves and time — into tangible capability.
Wavefront enables scientists to move ambitious ideas toward working technology on short timescales. With their support, I am now developing a proof of concept for high-precision optical methods to observe and track difficult-to-detect objects in orbit — a capability that is becoming increasingly critical as orbital activity accelerates.”
Your story here?
Are you next? Do you believe science has become too centralized? Are you ready to contribute to our mission, and work on your dream project? Get in touch!