A Curious Mind
Charlotte alumna Jennifer Pagán is tackling clean water locally, globally
By Phillip Brown
Photos by Kat Lawerence
AquiSense’s co-founder and chief technology officer Jennifer Pagán ’99, ’00 M.S., ’06 Ph.D. views access to clean water as a global problem.
With more than two decades of experience as a technical leader, including at AquiSense, she is responsible for ensuring the company’s technology meets the demands of its current and future clients.
“Day-to-day, I might meet with our engineering team about new product designs, or I may work with customers to answer questions. It runs the gamut from dealing with myriad details to handling issues at the highest level,” said Pagán.
Recently, the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s 2025 “Faces of American Innovation” report featured her groundbreaking work with UV-C LED water disinfection technology, and she received the 2025 Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award in Washington, D.C., June 4.
Jennifer Pagán, with Bayh-Dole Coalition Executive Director Joseph P. Allen and Board Chair Brian O’Shaughnessy, was among the 2025 recipients of the organization’s American Innovator Award.
Pagán’s innovative work with ultraviolet light-emitting diodes dates to her Ph.D. research in electrical engineering while a student in the William States Lee College of Engineering and the University startup Dot Metrics Technologies.
As director of research for Dot Metrics, she was instrumental in the creation of a cutting-edge product that purifies water in a compact system using mercury-free ultraviolet LEDs. That system is the trademarked UV-Pearl.
Grandmother of UV-C LEDs
As a doctoral student, Pagán manufactured her own LEDs and measured them using an integrating sphere, a device that has been in use since the 1960s.
“You can place a light source inside an integrating sphere, and as the light bounces around, the device measures its intensity,” she said.
So, in an “aha” moment, Pagán thought about how the sphere could measure even very low light sources, such as UV-C LEDS, because the light had to continuously bounce around multiple times before hitting the detector for accurate measurement. She hypothesized using the measuring device as the flow cell for LEDs in fluids. Thus, instead of using the integrating sphere to measure, it became an irradiation device for fluids.
As CTO, I get to push technology forward. AquiSense created the market for UV-C LED systems for water disinfection. The tech is there, now I focus on execution. We have great products and solutions for the market, but I need help to get them there.”
Jennifer Pagán
That discovery led to Dot Metrics’ first commercially available product, UV-Pearl, in association with partner Aquionics, a UV water treatment company. UNC Charlotte licenses the technology through the Office of Research Commercialization and Partnerships.
“Turning the sphere on its head and using it to bounce UV-C light as part of a filter would increase the probability of the light striking a bacteria or virus in fluid,” concluded Pagán.
Pagán, a mother of two teenage boys, recalled attending a research conference where she was introduced jokingly as the grandmother of UV-C LEDs. She accepts the title as validation for her success. Her revolutionary research led to the development of a compact and energy-efficient alternative to traditional mercury-based methods for water disinfection.
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“As CTO, I get to push technology forward. AquiSense created the market for UV-C LED systems for water disinfection,” Pagán stated. “The tech is there, now I focus on execution. We have great products and solutions for the market, but I just need to help get them there.”
From its factories in Kentucky, AquiSense manufactures systems for use domestically and internationally. In Uganda, the company partnered with ASEI Uganda, a social enterprise, to utilize its PearlAqua Micro in schools and health centers. Additionally, AquiSense is engaged in a pilot project with a Norwegian drinking water utility to deploy its UV-C LED technology for large-scale water disinfection.
A path not taken
A gifted vocalist, Pagán sang soprano in church, with the Charlotte Symphony Oratorio Singers, now the Charlotte Master Chorales, and even with the Carolina Voices, renowned for “The Singing Christmas Tree.”
Upon graduating from North Mecklenburg High School, she enrolled at Appalachian State University to pursue a degree in vocal performance to build her repertoire in classical music.
“After a couple of years, I decided to relegate my love of music to a hobby and transfer to UNC Charlotte,” said Pagán.
Her sister, one of Pagán’s four older siblings, worked for BellSouth and had some experience with engineering. After conversations with her, Pagán pivoted and started electrical engineering courses through the William States Lee College of Engineering.
“I didn't even know what a resistor was when I began my electrical engineering studies. And so, I was really playing a lot of catch up and struggled,” Pagán said.
During her final two years, she worked diligently in pursuit of straight A’s with an eye toward graduate studies.
“I’ve always been naturally curious, so I explored opportunities and benefited from some amazing professors,” said Pagán. “Kudos to UNC Charlotte for fostering undergraduate research opportunities.”
Experience gained through hands-on research, combined with faculty mentorship, resulted in Pagán’s inclusion on grant-funded projects that provided tuition support. The late professor Stephen Bobbio was particularly influential.
“Professor Bobbio was instrumental in introducing me to research. I started conducting research for him as an undergraduate,” explained Pagán.
After completing a master’s degree, she worked in private industry with Digital Optics Corporation and Wave Guide Solutions. The first venture focused on using light to transmit data, the second concentrated on deploying visible light for general lighting.
Pivoting to pursue a Ph.D.
Working with light-emitting diodes prompted Pagán to return to Charlotte for a Ph.D. in electrical engineering in the early 2000s. She was fascinated by the potential LEDs promised, even though at the time their use as a light source was in its infancy.
Fortuitously, Ed Stokes ’81, ’84 MSE had joined the Charlotte faculty in 2001 after a career with GE Global Research in New York. He had moved north to complete a Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Pagán became his first doctoral student after his return to Charlotte.
Together, they started experimenting with quantum dots exploring how to use their wavelengths differently than normal blue LEDs. Stokes and his wife, Rosanna, co-founded Dot Metrics in 2003 as a University startup to explore commercialization of their research with Pagán serving as director of research. She continued with the company after completing a Ph.D.
Eventually, funding for quantum dots deep green diode research dried up, so they began investigating UV-C LEDs, which also were difficult to produce with high efficiency. But the UV-C LEDs had an advantage of shorter wavelengths in the germicidal range to inactivate viruses and bacteria.
The challenge was harnessing those capabilities, which Pagán ultimately conquered, changing her future as a researcher and entrepreneur.
Jennifer Pagán’s advice for researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs
- Perseverance is key: “When I changed majors I was unprepared, but I committed. There is great personal satisfaction in knowing that my efforts are making a difference, especially in protecting human health.”
- Embrace creativity, and stay positive: “Engineers are problem solvers, so if I see something goes wrong — immediately, I’m thinking of ways to fix it — even if it’s not my own problem.”
- Advocate for yourself: “It’s often easy to be self-effacing, but you have to be your own cheerleader. You can’t rely on others to sell your strengths and capabilities.”