How an Arctic rock inspired this Texas couple to develop a new way to capture carbon

Steve and Beth McDaniel, cofounders of Reactive Surfaces, set out to mimic lichen, a natural carbon sink.

In 2005, Steve McDaniel was on a research trip to the Arctic studying cold climates as an analog to Mars. One day, as he scanned the frosted landscape, a splash of bright orange crossed his vision. He trudged over the ice to investigate. “I thought the rock I walked up to was painted by a geological survey team,” he recalled. Instead it was a lichen-covered boulder, and it sparked McDaniel’s fascination with a lifeform so hardy it could survive anywhere.