Our Story
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While returning from a field collection trip in autumn 2020, company founders Dr. Dakota Piorkowski and Prof. I-Min Tso discussed how convenient it would be if there were someone who could provide prepared spider silk and ship live spiders to researchers. They thought this could eliminate the burdens of obtaining wildlife collection permits, searching for wild spiders at sites, and extracting silk from spiders – a process that can take hours at a time. They quickly realized: “Why not us?” To put this idea into action, they united with a senior academic, Dr. Sean Blamires, and a marketing and distribution specialist, Shih-Hung Chang, to bring the vision to fruition.
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The Team
Prof. I-Min Tso
Founder
Company Director
Principle Investigator
I-Min Tso is a distinguished professor and head of the Behavioral Ecology Laboratory at the Department of Life Science at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1996. His research interests include spider biodiversity, behavior, ecology and silk. Prof. Tso has served in several leadership roles and senior management positions within the university and at enterprise. These include: Chair of the Department of Life Science, Director of the Center for General Education, Associate Editor of the scientific journal Behaviour, and Supervisor of Tunghai
Eco-Innovation Company Ltd.​
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Dr. Dakota Piorkowski
Co-Founder
Senior Researcher
Project Manager
Over ten years of experience in spider and silk-related research. Has previously managed Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan-funded projects involving all aspects of field collection and care of spiders as well as a collection of silk from numerous species. Bachelor of Science from the University of Akron, USA and Doctorate from Tunghai University, Taiwan.
Chang Shih-Hung
Co-founder
Marketing and Distribution
Manager
An International Business graduate of Tunghai University, with a degree in Finance. Has 5 years working experience in sales, marketing, and import/export of raw rubber materials. Current Youth Ambassador for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan, promoting international collaboration in the agriculture and technology sectors.
Dr. Sean Blamires
Co-founder
Founder of SSRL
Strategy Manager
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Dr. Sean Blamires is the Founder of the Spider Silk Research Lab (SSRL) in Sydney, Australia. The SSRL promotes broad, cross-disciplinary research on silks and other materials. As such, Dr. Blamires has experience working and communicating with researchers across a range of academic disciplines and industries, from biologists and engineers (chemical, biomedical, mechanical) to artists and designers. Dr. Blamires has established early adopters of our silk products across Australian institutes, with projects commencing on the
development of silk hybrids, conductive polymers, sensor technologies, smart wearables, and in vivo biomedical materials.
Link to SSRL: http://www.spidersilkresearch.com.au/
