Celebrating our Inventors

May is National Inventors Month - with that in mind, we tip our hats to our Research and Development Team

Here at Abstrax, one thing we pride ourselves on is our no-holds-barred approach to cultivating cutting edge scientific techniques, research, and methodology in the pursuit of industry excellence, continuous consistency, and academic integrity. This approach has allowed us, time and again, to rise to the surface of our respective fields, and stake new claims in a data-driven terrain of exciting discovery. Perhaps it's our unparalleled access to top-of-the-line testing equipment, brand new state-of-the-art research facilities, or the unapologetic way we keep ourselves ingrained and engaged with our friends, brands, and raving fans that have allowed our multi-award-winning terpene company to flourish with such Gusto.

This May, however, we'd like to direct your attention to what is perhaps the most vital component of our thriving successes - our Research and Development Team. Without them, Abstrax is a brand with a great idea and some fancy equipment. Our R&D team represents the lifeblood of all that we do and actively drives progress and innovation to new, unexplored territories on a daily basis. May is National Inventors Month- with that in mind, we tip our hats to those individuals that keep the progressive heart of Abstrax beating in the spirit of inspiration, novel flavor, and fragrance creation, and inexhaustible innovation.

Meet our Inventors

Kevin Koby | Co-Founder |CSO Abstrax Tech

Kevin Koby cut his teeth on terpenes by scaling some of the largest and most award-winning vape pen and concentrate companies in California: KingPen and LoudPack Extracts. Bitten by the canna-bug early on while working with family and friends in SoCal, Kevin played a vital role in many cultivation operations across California. Taking this education a step farther, Kevin earned his Bachelor of Science at UCSB, where he excelled at organic chemistry and gained invaluable experience.

Kevin Koby was among the first chemists to manufacture, analyze, and popularize highly concentrated, solvent-free cannabinoid oil. These endeavors have paved the way not only for his role as head of product development, but also awards for "Best New Product" in the High Time Cannabis Cup; not once, not twice, but FOUR times.

After being recruited by KingPen and Loudpack, Kevin was rapidly made VP of Manufacturing and R&D where he was responsible for creating, managing, and scaling in-house production. His novel ingenuity took the company from outside dependence for concentrates to producing over 40 kilograms of high-quality concentrate, WEEKLY, in-house, in an economically built production facility.

If there is one word to describe Kevin's experience and contribution to the industry, it's "prolific". He regularly meets with top cannabis equipment manufacturers and concentrate manufacturing facilities throughout the US. Poised as the scientific leader of Abstrax Tech, Kevin Koby is well on his way to making a name for himself in the industry. Oh, and the 12+ High Times Cannabis Cup awards don't hurt, either.

Kevin Koby has a clear idea of why his work at Abstrax is so important. He explains: ”We at Abstrax really dig into our niche of terpenes which is entirely inspired by cannabis. The terpenes give the sensorial experience that IS cannabis. The cannabis industry at large should be deeply invested in what makes their products or their client’s products unique.” He continues: “We focus in on that experience and the science behind that experience with our research scientists and our team…”

Dr. Iain W.H Oswald | Ph.D. Research Scientist

Doctor Oswald graduated with a B.S in chemistry in 2010 an a M.Scs. in 2013 from the University of North Texas. During this period of intense academic study, he researched the design, synthesis, and screening of novel phosphors for organic LEDs. Beyond this, Iain has also helped develop synthetic protocols for metal-organic frameworks, culminating in over 10 peer-reviewed publications, multiple presentations at national and local meetings, and a patent. His focused research in molecular dynamics and crystallography of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites at Colorado State University resulted in 8 more peer-reviewed publications. As of May 2019, Dr. Oswald has become the senior scientist at Abstrax where he continues to hone and focus his laser-sharp acuity on the chemical properties of cannabis.

T.J Martin | Director of Research and Development

TJ graduated with a B.S in Chemistry from CSU Polytechnic Pomona. From there he gained experience with a wide array of analytical techniques and research methods. These applications included collaboration with groups in the fields of chemistry, solid state physics, green chemistry, materials science, and polymer science. Martin currently leads the Research and Development team at Abstrax, creating custom flavor solutions for cannabis clientele and his ongoing research continues to be both vital and essential to the applied facets of cannabis science. When asked about what he considers some of Abstrax's most important work, TJ Martin explains: “We have the opportunity with Abstrax and our place in the community to do something really special. Like really find out not only what makes cannabis special but also the best, most efficacious way to consume the products we love!”

 

Discovery

Abstrax is pioneering the green frontier, and for us that means intense focus on the discovery of new compounds. Never forget, the Cannabis plant is one of the most dense and abundant sources of complex terpene profiles on the planet. Our mission is to research and identify newly discovered compounds. Kevin Koby, Dr. Oswald, and Head of R&D TJ Martin are on the cutting edge of this research, having already mapped over 400 unique flavor and aroma compounds and discovered over 20 brand new ones. The work is exciting, and never ends. Abstrax’s cannabis strain analysis is the most advanced and comprehensive method to achieve biomimicry of each cannabis variety and build valuable IP for brands.

 

Research

We are immersed in high-level, advanced cannabis mapping, and a large part of this process is producing a metabolite fingerprint of all the strains that come through our doors and make their way under our slides (so to speak). Determining the unique chemical composition of each strain is challenging enough, but beyond that what Kevin, Iain, and TJ are researching involves understanding the properties that make each of these compounds utterly unique. From there, they develop valuable intellectual property and make it their mission to authenticate each strain with the original cultivator. This has allowed us to aggregate both consumer reviews as well as valuable cannabis data science. Once new compounds are discovered, the team at Abstrax take a deeper dive into researching their potential benefits and applications.

 

Education

One of our primary goals is to educate the consumer and build valuable trust using our intense analytical standards and quality scientific data. The whole point here is Strain Standardization. This encompasses both the quality of the strain, it's unique profile, and the specific cannabis genetics therein. Ultimately, we want a definitive picture of the desirable properties of cannabis that include their total terpenes and aroma compounds. This has always been about measuring the overall flavor and aroma profiles for any given strain. When we talk about desirable attributes we're referring to total cannabinoids, total aroma compounds, fruit factor, GAS factor, strain balance, and more newly evolving metrics.

 

The Cutting Edge

Our R&D team includes PhD research scientists, analytical chemists, formulation chemists, and cannabis connoisseurs working together to discover the nuances of cannabis and create the most authentic, strain-specific formulations available.

What has always set Abstrax apart from the rest of the competition is the degree to which we drive the progress of analytical cannabis science. This has shaped our brand identity and allowed us to be the last and final word when it comes to mapping genetic profiles. Our stringent analytical standards are perpetually enforced by a team of scientists whose passion is quality and cannabis education. We want to change, define, and pioneer the landscape of cannabis science. Thanks to the cutting edge efforts of Kevin Koby, Dr. Oswald, and TJ Martin, this sort of groundbreaking, industry-defining research is being done on a daily basis at Abstrax.