Jason Aramburu ’07 has had his eye on soil since his undergraduate days. As an ecology and evolutionary biology major, he conducted senior-thesis research in Panama, studying how a population of ants chose nesting sites based on soil properties. After graduation, he started a company called Re:char, which developed a charcoal fertilizer and brought it to farmers in developing countries.
Now, Aramburu’s devotion to soil is coming to gardens in the United States. His new company, Edyn, has created a Wi-Fi-enabled probe that measures soil properties and uses the data to automatically regulate irrigation through a solar-powered water valve.
The product received positive reviews in The New York Times and Wired last week, and funding for its Kickstarter campaign more than doubled its $100,000 goal in less than two weeks.
Aramburu told PAW that while his biology background has been immensely important, a course outside his department also had a major influence: Ed Zschau ’61’s High-Tech Entrepreneurship. “It was an incredibly inspiring class and made me think about doing something entrepreneurial,” Aramburu said.
Re:char launched in 2009 and has been adopted by thousands of farmers in Kenya, Aramburu said, and its proceeds helped him to create Edyn. Perhaps the most valuable experience was doing soil research in Kenya — that’s where Edyn’s first prototypes were developed.
Aramburu said that other Princetonians have contributed to his new company’s promising start. Paul Cowgill ’08, is a software developer for Edyn; Ron Sachs ’88 was among the first investors; and Aaron Lee *00, the chief technology officer at Home Depot and cofounder of Redbeacon, serves as a company adviser.