OUR TEAM
OLIVIA G. HOLZHAUS
FOUNDER and CEO
Olivia G. Holzhaus established Rhodium Scientific in 2014. As Founder and CEO, her charge is to deliver high-fidelity research results at the speed of business and advance commercialization strategies within the low Earth orbit economy. She is focused on translating discoveries made in space into novel biotech solutions on Earth. Olivia is a science-trained, business-educated professional, with more than 20 years of technical and operational experience in commercial testing, manufacturing, and research laboratories. Additionally, she leads an international, advanced-degreed team and has managed multiple laboratory renovation, relocation, and launch facility design projects for NASA, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the pharmaceutical industry.
In 2019, Olivia expanded Rhodium’s capabilities to include translating laboratory testing and research initiatives into microgravity missions, brokering space flight hardware, and optimizing payload-handling procedures with a unique “science-first” approach. This approach and past performance resulted in Rhodium’s official designation as a Commercial Service Provider and Implementation Partner to the U.S. International Space Station (ISS) National Lab. Rhodium now maintains a spaceflight hardware portfolio that supports a diverse range of biotech and biomanufacturing investigations in space. At the end of 2022, her company will have executed nine scientific ISS missions, four rodent research missions, five ISS technology development missions, two successful DoD prototypes for biomanufacturing and human health performance on the ISS, with six missions scheduled for Q1 2023.
To date, Olivia has led Rhodium in establishing the Rhodium Science Chamber Facility aboard and for the U.S. International Space Station and the Rhodium Science TempLog – 20iB, a NIST calibrated temperature and humidity logger capable of monitoring experimental temperature profiles during launch, spaceflight, and landing phases of a science mission. This TempLog is important to the spaceflight industry as this capability did not exist for science payloads prior to its creation. Her vision is to ensure quality assurance metrics within the spaceflight process to bridge “the valley of death” and gaps in scientific spaceflight chain of custodies, a fundamental parameter to every science investigation in space or on Earth. Additionally, her and her team at Rhodium created and implemented the first Quality Assurance Plan for spaceflight science missions called the Quality, Industry Compatible (QuIC) Space Process(TM). The QuIC Space Process(TM) highlights the importance of delivering high-fidelity, reproducible spaceflight research results at the speed of business.
Leading up to this development, she was a scientist with project management oversight for analytical and microbiological projects at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), one of the United States’ most prestigious applied research and development organizations. While at SwRI, Olivia served as the institute’s main inorganic trace metals analyst, contributing to the identification and quantitation of metals, transuranic metals, chemical agent, and the safety of drinking water across the United States. Additionally, she served as a project management liaison to the DoD and enabled microbial efficacy testing important for U.S. defense initiatives.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliviagh
HEATH J. MILLS, Ph.D.
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER
Dr. Heath J. Mills is an extreme environment microbial ecologist. As the current Chief Scientific Officer for Rhodium, he leads initiatives to expand terrestrial and spaceflight research capacities into the advanced commercial biotechnology sector. With academic degrees from Duke University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mills has over 19 years’ experience studying extreme environment ecosystems from a biogeochemical perspective. He has published nearly 40 publications that have collected more than 1600 citations, where he used advanced molecular techniques to characterize microbial community structure and function from locations across and beneath the Earth. In space-based research over the past five years, Mills has been a Principal Investigator and co-Investigator on nearly 20 International Space Station science and engineering projects funded privately and by the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health and the International Space Station National Laboratory. Recently, Mills was appointed to the International Space Station National Laboratory User Advisory Committee to serve on the Technology Development Subcommittee.
MICHAEL BAKER (“BAKES”)
INTERNATIONAL and SPACEFLIGHT ADVISOR
Michael Baker (“Bakes”) is a Veteran NASA Astronaut and Navy Test Pilot offering a 41-year history of accomplishment within NASA and the United States Navy. Michael has served as Shuttle Commander, operations and program manager, test pilot, and officer. Michael brings international program and spaceflight experience to the Rhodium team through his position as NASA’s Manager for International and Crew Operations for the International Space Station Program and as NASA’s Director of Human Space Flight Programs - Russia. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas, is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School (USNTPS) and has served as instructor for both USNTPS and the Empire Test Pilots School in England.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-baker-7325b022/
CHRIS KELLEY
INTEGRATION and LOGISTICS SPECIALST
Chris Kelley brings a unique background of finance, aerospace, maintenance, and logistics experience to the Rhodium team. He manages the company’s spaceflight, scientific and laboratory assets, as well as overseeing these asset’s inventory, maintenance and NASA spaceflight certifications.
Chris grew up in the NASA JSC area, graduating from the University of Houston with a B.S. in Finance. He currently holds a pilot’s license and is highly experience at aircraft maintenance and piloting multiple small aircraft on a weekly basis. His experience conducting business development, parts acquisition, and maintenance at Air Professionals enables him to bridge the gaps between terrestrial and Low Earth Orbit markets.
Additionally, Chris has held multiple loan, finance, and securities positions at the Bank of New York/Mellon Mortgage and served as project accountant on civil engineering projects for Cobb Fendley and Associates, a Houston-based civil engineering and survey firm. As an avid and experienced sailor, pilot, and financer, Chris brings the team a cross disciplinary background that ensures Rhodium’s collective success.
VIJETA REVANKAR
SPACE BIOTECHNOLOGY INTERN
Vijeta Revankar is an undergraduate student at the University of Houston, where she is a pre-med student pursuing a degree in Management. On her path to medical school, Vijeta has been involved in several research experiences. At UTMB, she worked with the Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory to develop a noninvasive method to identify and quantify disturbances in the microbiome. As a research intern at Dr. Mohan’s Biomedical Engineering lab, Vijeta conducted image analysis of glomerular and tubular ROI in order to identify protein markers present in Nephritis patients. These experiences prompted her to conduct her own research projects under the guidance of mentors from NASA and Baylor College of Medicine.
After spending a summer as an instructor at Space Center Houston, it was clear to Vijeta that she wanted to gain more experience in the space science industry. By working with Rhodium Scientific to increase engagement for their initiatives and to assist with research projects, Vijeta hopes to learn more about the intersection between Astronomy and Medicine so that she can specialize into the Aerospace Medicine field in the future.