# Maher Damak

> Maher Damak is the CEO and co-founder of Infinite Cooling, an MIT spinout that recaptures the water vapor escaping from power-plant and industrial cooling towers using electric fields. A French-American mechanical engineer with a PhD from MIT and a degree from Ecole Polytechnique, he turned a fog-harvesting experiment in the Varanasi Research Group into a patented technology that recovers water more than 100 times purer than a plant's circulating supply. His work has earned Forbes 30 Under 30, the Lemelson-MIT prize, and an Edison gold medal, and his charged-mesh systems are now being tested on nuclear plants including EDF's Bugey site in France.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Infinite Cooling
- **Organizations:** Infinite Cooling, AgZen, MIT (Varanasi Research Group, alumnus)
- **Nationality:** French-American
- **Education:** PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Undergraduate studies in Mathematics, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique (France)
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (2018), Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, World Technology Award

## Career timeline

- **2016** — As an MIT PhD student, files the foundational patent with advisor Kripa Varanasi for capturing water from fog and cooling-tower plumes using electric fields.
- **2017** — Co-founds Infinite Cooling with Karim Khalil and MIT professor Kripa Varanasi.
- **2018** — Team wins the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition; named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy; earns PhD from MIT.
- **2019** — Wins the MassChallenge Diamond Award, Rice Business Plan Competition, and DOE national cleantech prize; installs prototypes on MIT's cogeneration plant and nuclear research reactor.
- **2021** — Closes a $12.25M Series A led by Material Impact; plans first commercial installations at a 900MW power plant and a Midwest chemical facility.
- **2024** — Infinite Cooling partners with EDF to test water recovery at the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant in France (Aug 2024-Mar 2025).

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (2018)
- Lemelson-MIT Student Prize
- World Technology Award
- Edison Awards Gold Medal
- Grand prize, MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition (2018)
- MassChallenge Diamond Award
- Rice Business Plan Competition winner
- DOE national cleantech competition winner
- Invented and patented electrostatic water-recovery technology recovering water 100x+ purer than circulating cooling water

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Infinite Cooling announced a collaboration with EDF to test its water-recovery technology at the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant in France.
- **2025-03** — Bugey nuclear plant testing phase concluded (running Aug 2024-Mar 2025).

## Links

- Website: https://infinite-cooling.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maher-damak-phd-2217b35b/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/InfiniteCooling

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/maher-damak
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01