Our Team of Process Engineers and Business Analysts

Our business savvy process engineering consultants and business analysts have a wide variety of experience with 80+ sustainable technology projects.

Next Rung Technology By The Numbers

      
       Years of Cumulative Experience
    
      Countries Visited
    
      Farmers
    
      PE Liscenses
    
      National Spikeball Tournament Appearance
    
      Woodworkers

Founding Members

John Ellersick P.E. PMP

President / Principal Consultant

John founded Next Rung Technology in 2017 when after the acquisition of Oasys Water, he decided to launch an engineering and consulting organization to share his extensive experience in technology development and commercialization with a core focus on commercializing sustainable technologies. John has 25+ years of experience bringing a wide variety of water, energy, fermentation, chemical and biotechnology processes to market through developing pilot plants, managing project plans, and overseeing execution from an engineering and business perspective. As the President of Next Rung Technology, John develops business relationships, collaborates on strategic planning, launches, and manages projects, does techno-economic analyses, and works with Next Rung’s engineering team as they collaborate with our clients to create and commercialize novel processes.

Education

MS Engineering Management, Tufts University
BS Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University

Hobbies

John is a veteran soccer player, bike rider with the Cambridge MA Bike Committee, New England nature enthusiast, dedicated husband, and poodle parent.

Linda Rauch

Lead Engineer

Linda joined Next Rung Technology near the beginning in 2018 when she was approached by Herve and John for help on a larger project. She’s had 25+ years of project and process experience across many different sectors including Renewable Energy, Biotechnology, Plant Engineering (Pharmaceutical and Industrial), Wastewater, Product Design, and Process Engineering. From creating process flow diagrams and equipment lists for pilot plants to techno-economic models for novel sustainable technology, Linda uses her variety of experience to help growing sustainable technology companies.

Education

BS Chemical Engineering, McGill University
MS Environmental Engineering, University of New Hampshire

Hobbies

Linda enjoys anything that’s with her family and friends, being outside, baking, and helping to build her new house.

Herve Garant, PhD

Principal Consultant

Before Next Rung Technolgy, Herve and John had collaborated together in the development and commercialization of a number of early sustainable technologies, from cellulosics to platform chemicals (BioMetics) and fuels (Mascoma corporation), as the world’s attention to low carbon alternatives increased. In early 2018, Herve and John decided to join forces to build the Next Rung team, able to serve clients across the range of required disciplines from business strategy, project development / management / execution, engineering pilot and R&D activities. Herve has 20+ years of process engineering experience with a broad variety of novel and emerging technologies, with a focus on the bioscience realm. In his work with Next Rung, Herve collaborates with clients to create sustainable technology processes from bench scale up to pilot and commercial scale. His expertise lies in optimizing a process and taking it to the next level of scale with precision and creativity.

Education

PhD Biochemical Engineering, Dartmouth College
MS Environmental Engineering, Dartmouth College
BA Engineering Sciences, Dartmouth College

Hobbies

Herve enjoys woodworking, boating, driving his tractor, and building houses.

Leah Stahmann

Director of Project Management

Leah was already a veteran in technology commercialization as an engineer with Oasys Water, and when the Next Rung team reached out to build their team she was an enthusiastic matches in skills, mission and commitment. She’s had broad work experiences in Water and Bio, including managing a feasibility study to treat bacterial contamination in Colombia, coordinating engineering teams in China, and developing a sustainable clean water business for a village in Ghana. Leah’s Process Engineering and Project Management role with Next Rung focuses on process flow design and optimization, operating and capital cost evaluations, and managing projects in design and execution all for complex emerging technologies.