About Us

Solar Unsoiled was born out of research at Duke University. Our founders were studying impacts of air pollution beyond human health and found the overlooked but significant impact that air pollution has on solar energy production. Our CEO Michael Valerino focused his PhD on the science of soiling, with a broader goal of developing solutions that could be applied in industry and advance the global drive towards renewable energy. Solar Unsoiled leverages the latest advancements in soiling research in a novel, easy-to-use software platform.

Meet the Team

  • Mike Valerino, PhD Solar Unsoiled

    Mike Valerino, PhD

    Co-Founder & CEO

    Leading soiling expert making soiling research accessible to the industry.

  • Alexandra Rivera Solar Unsoiled

    Alexandra Rivera

    Co-Founder & CTO

    Software engineer with expertise in translating scientific analysis into usable products.

  • Mike Bergin, PhD Solar Unsoiled

    Mike Bergin, PhD

    Co-Founder & Scientific Advisor

    Expert in air pollution, particulate matter physics, chemistry, and optics.

  • Drew Shindell, PhD Solar Unsoiled

    Drew Shindell, PhD

    Co-Founder & Scientific Advisor

    World-recognized climate modeling expert with >100k citations of his work.

  • Josh Miller Solar Unsoiled

    Josh Miller

    Business & Technical Advisor

    A 2x entrepreneur with experience in starting and growing SaaS companies.

  • Ben Davidson Solar Unsoiled

    Ben Davidson

    Industry Advisor

    Vice President of Legal & Operations at Cypress Creek Renewables.

  • Harold Nyikal Solar Unsoiled

    Harold Nyikal

    Technical Advisor

    Software engineer with >17 years of experience at top software companies.