Ursa Science

About us

Founded by expert scientists and designers in Santa Fe NM, Ursa Science is focused on developing a line of modular, customizable life science and process control equipment. Our team has decades of experience both designing and using software platforms, bioreactors, advanced imaging and spectroscopic tools. Some of our previous designs are used all over the world and have been accepted as the industry standard. We aim to provide flexible solutions to the rigidness of traditional biomanufacturing instruments by offering cost-effective, modular systems that enable more freedom and innovation in scientific research.

Our Mission

We aim to free scientists from the rigidness of current life science instrumentation by using a modular, customizable, process and control system. Our goal is to disrupt the traditional link between manufacturers of scientific instruments and consumers of those instruments. We aim to break vendor lock-in by producing a new paradigm for instrumentation that provides lower costs and on-demand capability.

Our Founders

The Founders

Decades of technical experience in one place.

Ben F. Lucker, PhD, PMP

CEO, CoFounder

Dr. Lucker is a multidisciplinary scientist and certified project manager with 20 peer reviewed publications and patents. He is an expert in algal research, photophysiology, custom instrumentation design for microbial cultivation and spectroscopy. He is credited for the design of the environmental photobioreactor1, which is considered an industry standard benchtop photobioreactor. He has served as a founder, research director, program manager, consultant, and CSO

Christopher W. DeLaurentis

CTO, CoFounder

A multidisciplinary technologist with over 25 years experience as a team leader focused on software, product innovation, and product development. Chris has extensive, hands-on experience developing a gamut of solutions from web, API, and platform development to embedded systems and microcontrollers. His industry experience ranges from financial services, telecommunications, advertising & marketing, immersive media, and crowdsourcing.

Robert Zegarac

CoFounder

Is a self-taught electronics designer with >30 years of experience. Over the past 15 years he has led electronics design for multiple cutting edge spectroscopic instruments with Dr. David Kramer at Michigan State University. Highlights of his instrument designs are the environmental photobioreactor1 (with Dr. Lucker), advanced spectroscopy tools such as the Ideaspec2, Multispeq3, and the Dynamic Environmental Photosynthesis Imaging chambers4 for state of the art plant phenotyping.