Luke Haverhals, PhD, is the Founder and CEO of Natural Fiber Welding (NFW), a pioneering materials science company dedicated to building a fully circular, low-carbon, and holistically sustainable material economy. Holding a doctorate in Chemistry from the University of Iowa, Luke began his career as an Assistant Research Professor at the US Naval Academy, where he explored all-natural alternatives to petroleum-derived synthetic plastics — research that laid the groundwork for NFW's ecosystem of patented, paradigm-shifting material technologies. His vision for bioneutral, high-performance materials derived from renewable natural inputs has positioned NFW as a leader in sustainable materials innovation, with applications spanning fashion, footwear, and other major consumer industries. A sought-after thought leader, Luke has delivered dozens of invited international presentations at the intersection of materials science and trillion-dollar consumer markets. In 2022, he was named IPOEF Inventor of the Year, and he has earned recognition as a Fortune+Salesforce Ecopreneur, Unreasonable Group Fellow, Business Insider Climate Action 30 honoree, Forbes Council Member, and World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. He is also a graduate of The Circulars Accelerator, Fashion for Good Scaling Programme, and the National Science Foundation I-Corps Program. Through NFW, Luke is driving a moonshot, systems-level shift away from toxic chemistries and fossil fuel-derived materials, empowering material scientists, engineers, manufacturers, investors, and global brands to reimagine the future of sustainable materials from the ground up.