Meet the Team

  • Dr Jason Holland

    CEO

  • Zak Nichol

    COO

  • A/Prof john stride

    ADVISOR - UNSW

  • Dr Thomas De Prinse

    ADVISOR - U.Adelaide

the founders

Dr Jason Holland - CEO

Jason is an entrepreneurially focussed researcher, with distinct experience in business development, entrepreneurship and advanced materials sciences.

His strong entrepreneurial acumen is evidenced by numerous accolades including being the finalist for the 2022 Peter Farrell Cup Pitching competition, winning ‘The Best New Idea’ award from UNSW Founders and being awarded a Menzies Scholarship for Leadership and Innovation. As a start-up coach and mentor with UNSW Founders, he has guided early-stage ventures through complexities of navigating early stage scientific breakthroughs into viable businesses.

Jason’s expertise in advanced materials and security sciences positions Aurora Materials at the forefront of next generation authentication technologies. His vision is to redefine supply chain security by developing robust, tamperproof tagging solutions, that enhance national security, optomise logistics chains and safeguard against counterfeiting across critical industries.

Notable previous experiences:

Nuclear Forensic Scientist - Subject Matter Expert, ANSTO
Research Officer - Drug Delivery ‘Theranostic Materials’, UNSW
Project Officer - Design and Business Comms UNSW Founders
Casual Academic - Scientific Literacy, WSU
Forensic Chemist - Illicit Drugs Analysis Unit, NSW FASS

Zak Nichol - COO

Zak is an expert mechatronics engineer, industrial designer and cyber security consultant, while being a founder of his own boutique robotics consulting firm.

Zak brings a wealth of experience, designing and implementing advanced robotics and systems integration across various sectors including defence, automotive, commercial electronics and luxury goods.

Zak also brings experience of leadership, negotiation and emotional intelligence to the table, drastically enhancing business operations through forming collaborative agreements with stakeholders at all levels.

Using his wealth of experience, Zak will enable our sovereign manufacturing capability to meet stakeholder requirements, whilst being adaptable to future scaling needs.

Notable previous experiences:
Senior Engineer - Series A startup
Mechatronics Project Lead - The Future Faqtory
IT Engineer - Access Electronics Australia

Projects:

  • Swarming Drone Systems

  • Modular Robotics Systems

  • Artificial Muscle Actuators