AIT Nepal 2026/27: MetAubind
Meet Nazanin Taheri, one of the ten participants in the 2026/27 edition of the Academia-Industry Training Nepal program.
Interview with Nazanin Taheri
“MetAubind tackles two connected challenges: the loss of valuable metals in industrial waste and e-waste, and the environmental damage caused by primary mining. Our technology recovers gold and removes toxic metals from wastewater, turning waste into a valuable resource.”
What problem does your startup solve, and why is it important to you personally?
MetAubind tackles two connected challenges: the loss of valuable metals in industrial waste and e-waste, and the environmental damage caused by primary mining. Our technology recovers gold and removes toxic metals from wastewater, turning waste into a valuable resource. This mission matters deeply to me because I believe scientific knowledge carries a responsibility: to create environmental, societal, and economic value while protecting the planet and preserving its resources for future generations.
What inspired you to become a sciencepreneur, and what has been your biggest “aha!” moment so far?
I did not begin with a fixed career path, but I was certain that I wanted to use the knowledge gained through more than ten years of education and research to create meaningful value for society. When I realized that building a startup could transform my research into real-world solutions, I embraced the challenge. My biggest “aha!” moment came when I successfully produced my material at a larger scale and saw that it could move beyond the laboratory toward practical application.
What unique perspective does your academic background bring to your startup?
My background in organic chemistry allows me to design adsorbents at the molecular level, creating specific binding sites for selective metal capture. Rather than only testing existing materials, I can understand how structure and functional groups control performance and use that knowledge to develop novel solutions.
What’s one surprising lesson you’ve learned since launching your startup?
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is to measure success not only by winning, but by how much I learn and grow. Rejections from awards or funding initially felt like failures, but I came to understand that outcomes sometimes depend on timing and luck. As long as I do my best, every experience strengthens my skills, clarifies my direction, and builds my resilience. I am especially grateful to Prof. Wendy Lee Queen, whose support helped me learn this lesson.
If you could host a dinner with three innovators (past or present), who would they be and why?
I would invite Melanie Perkins, Anousheh Ansari, and Marie Curie. Melanie Perkins inspires me because she faced many rejections from investors but never gave up and built Canva into a global company. Anousheh Ansari inspires me as a successful Iranian woman who broke barriers in technology and space. Marie Curie showed how determination and science can change the world. I would ask them how they stayed strong when others doubted them.