Who we are
LumiStrain Inc., established in Houston in 2024 by four Rice University colleagues, developed the next-generation strain sensors, aimed at improving structural safety and longevity. LumiStrain’s offerings leverage the founders’ deep expertise in nanotechnology and structural health monitoring, providing advanced solutions for critical infrastructure needs.
Our team
Wei Meng, CEO & Co-Founder
Dr. Meng holds M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Rice University, where he also served as a Rice Innovation Fellow. His expertise and innovative spirit are at the core of LumiStrain’s mission to revolutionize the strain sensing technology. As a Activate Fellow, Wei continues to drive forward with groundbreaking solutions that promise to enhance the safety and longevity of structures worldwide.
Sergei Bachilo, CTO & Co-Founder
Dr. Bachilo has many years of experience in laser spectroscopy, and the design and optimization of optical instrumentation. Dr. Bachilo received a Bachelor’s degree in Optics and Spectroscopy from Belarussian State University, and a Doctoral degree in Physics and Mathematics from the Institute of Physics, Belarus Academy of Sciences. He made the seminal discovery of near-infrared fluorescence from single-walled carbon nanotubes. Dr. Bachilo has published more than 80 scientific papers and remains an internationally recognized authority on nanotube spectroscopy.
Advisory board
Satish Nagarajaiah, Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder
Dr. Nagarajaiah recevied his Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University at Buffalo and has served as a Professor of structural engineering, mechanical engineering, material science, and nano-engineering at Rice University since 1999. Dr. Nagarajaiah is internationally recognized for pioneering contributions to structural health monitoring, structural sensing (non-contact strain sensing), system identification with physics-informed machine learning algorithms, adaptive stiffness (negative-positive-bistable) structural systems, and seismic isolation. He has published over 400 journal and conference papers and two books that are widely cited. Dr. Nagarajaiah is the co-inventor of (1) adaptive stiffness structures (1998-self, 2014-with Drs. Constantinou and Reinhorn), (2) non-contact single-walled carbon nano-tube-based strain sensing in 2004 (with Dr. Barrera), and (3) a more refined strain sensing method in 2012 (with Dr. Weisman and Bachilo) for producing laser-induced spectral strain maps. Dr. Nagarajaiah is the senior editor of the international journal Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing (Elsevier), the editor of the Structural Control and Health Monitoring (Wiley), and served as managing editor of the ASCE Journal of Structural Engineering. He is an elected fellow of the United States National Academy of Inventors and elected Distinguished Member of ASCE. Dr. Nagarajaiah has delivered over 20 plenary and keynote lectures at international conferences, and his work has been recognized with numerous national and international awards.
R. Bruce Weisman, Scientific Advisor & Co-Founder
Dr. Weisman received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University, a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and has served as a Professor at Rice University since 1979. Dr. Weisman is internationally recognized for his contributions to spectroscopy and photophysics of carbon nanostructures. In 2002, he led the research project that successfully assigned the near-infrared fluorescence transitions of carbon nanotubes to specific structural forms. Dr. Weisman is Vice Chair of the Fullerenes, Nanotubes, and Carbon Nanostructures Division of Electrochemical Society and a co-editor of the journal Applied Physics A. He has served on the IEEE Standards Group for Carbon Nanotube Properties (2004) and is currently a U.S. Technical Expert advising ISO Working Group 229 on Carbon Nanotube Characterization.