Heroica Technologies
Company description
Heroica Technologies is a next-generation photonics R&D company designing novel photonic structures — photonic integrated circuits, chemical sensors, infrared imaging systems, and optical communication components — using advanced computational electromagnetics (CEM) modeling paired with additive manufacturing of micro- and nano-structures. The company's near-term focus has been developing "photonic lenses" that could replace conventional lenses in infrared imaging systems, offering major reductions in size, weight, and power draw that would make them well suited to small platforms like unmanned aerial systems. Heroica's customer base spans the Department of Defense, chipmakers like Intel, and aerospace companies like SpaceX. The company took second place and $20,000 in seed funding at the September 12, 2024 Startup Texas SBIR/STTR Innovation Competition, a program run by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC) in partnership with UTRGV's Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center (ECC) and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES).
Heroica was founded in August 2022 by husband-and-wife team Javier and Stephanie Pazos, who had already been working together for three years by the time of their 2024 application. Javier holds a PhD in computational electromagnetics and previously served as the CEM lead at SpaceX, working on the design and analysis of launch assets for lightning and space-charging certification, and has also worked as a CEM engineer for Intel Corporation and Electro Magnetic Applications, Inc. Stephanie, also a PhD, serves as Chief Scientist, bringing research experience in the design, synthesis, testing, and application of new materials, polymers, and coatings, with a focus on optimizing products for fabrication and commercialization. The company has collaborated on published research with the Air Force Research Laboratory and CREOL, the University of Central Florida's College of Optics & Photonics, on bio-inspired photonic and plasmonic systems for gas sensing.
Founders: Javier J. Pazos, PhD (President & Co-Owner) and Stephanie Pazos, PhD (Chief Scientist & Co-Owner)
Program: 2024 Startup Texas SBIR/STTR Innovation Competition
Website: heroicatech.com
LinkedIn (company): linkedin.com/company/heroica-tech