Istvan is a globally recognized thought leader in ecological engineering and urban circularity. He received in 2005 the Silver Merit Cross of the President of the Republic of Hungary for his achievements in establishing the modern clean-tech industry in Hungary. A chemical engineer and biotechnologist by profession, István started his carrier as a Researcher at the Budapest Technical University, focusing on bioreactor and artificial ecosystems design and biorefinery processes. After 15 years he left academia and founded and led several successful companies, including Organica Water, Inc., now a global player on the cutting edge of the water treatment market, having introduced an entirely new paradigm to the industry, based on his inventions. In 2012 István left Organica to start the BIOPOLUS Group and within that the BIOPOLUS Institute, this latter a non-profit private R&D organization to develop solutions and to facilitate to close the water, food, waste and energy loops, combining urban water reuse with distributed biological manufacturing, in densely populated urban environment.
