Building Colorado’s Systems Engineering Talent: RapiCure Internship Outcomes

Jackson Staver talks about chemistry the way poets speak about love.  

“I fell in love with the process of chemical engineering and how everything works,” he tells me, smiling. Jackson is a Chemist/Chemical Engineering Intern with RapiCure Solutions, an advanced resin and composite manufacturing  company based in Loveland, Colorado. His internship, along with two others, is funded by Opportunity Now Colorado with the goal of building a stronger systems engineering workforce in the state.

Jackson originally studied civil engineering, but after an organic chemistry lab, he switched to chemical engineering and “I never looked back.”  

After graduating this spring, Jackson, who is originally from Longmont, started looking for his next opportunity. “Coming in, the second I saw reactors, I was like, ‘wow, yeah, I really want to work here,’” he says, referring to RapiCure’s lab and manufacturing space. A reactor is the industry term for a tank or vessel where a chemical reaction takes place. “The best part for me is working on the large pieces of equipment that make such cool products. Chemistry is like that; you put things together and create something completely different that is beneficial to society.”

Aside from chemistry, Jackson also appreciates the change of pace from college competitiveness to teamwork. “Working here has taught me that we are all focused on one mission. We want to complete a goal: we have this product, and we are trying to make it the best possible, at the best price, to the best possible customers.”

RapiCure’s work has been funded in part by the State of Colorado’s OEDIT ESCR Advanced Industries Grant Program, the National Science Foundation's SBIR Program, and by the USDOT/PHMSA R&D.

Jackson is one of over 120 participants whose internships are subsidized under a grant to Innosphere by Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). “RapiCure is one of many emerging advanced manufacturing companies in Colorado looking to incorporate a systems approach to solving complex Engineering challenges across a broad spectrum of technologies,” said Brian Johnston, Innosphere Workforce Program Manager. “The Opportunity Now grant has been especially effective in enabling small start-ups like RapiCure to overcome funding constraints on intern programming, in addition to scaling existing programs at larger partners.”

RapiCure’s CEO Heather Rubin agrees. “This support did not just provide funding; it bridged the gap between ambition and capacity. By enabling us to bring on incredible, talented interns, we gained the extra hands and fresh minds we needed to iterate quickly and to scale. We take great pride in the collaborative team that we have intentionally built at RapiCure, and we are grateful for the support to grow our business while empowering young professionals.”

Intern Ashley Franklin is also passionate about chemistry but finds the best part of her internship to be the people. “Everyone loves what they do, and the leadership is amazing,” she tells me. “I really wanted to make sure I said that because I've worked with a lot of teams and the camaraderie, teamwork, leadership here is top tier.”

Ashley could be considered a non-traditional intern, since she has already had one career. “I did biology for about 10 years,” she tells me, “and had more questions than biology could answer." She is now a junior at CSU, studying chemical engineering.  

At RapiCure, she has found her niche as a systems engineering intern doing a diverse array of quality testing, ensuring that resins or composites are cured and have the correct strength. Her earlier biology experience in designing and running experiments has also proven useful. “Here I'm actually putting that into practice and mixing raw materials to create something that has the type of properties that we want."

“This is the best internship I have had, and I have had a few internships. Very organized, and I am treated more like an employee and I am able to make meaningful contributions.”

For Ashley, her internship has also provided the opportunity to apply and practice new skills, including becoming familiar with the safety protocols of working in a wet lab (e.g., using a fume hood, PPE, and chemical storage requirements). “I have also really enjoyed learning about the business side of things,” she says. “The CEO is very open about what she does and what it takes to run a business and do market research.”

Ashley, even as an intern, is already thinking two steps ahead. “Right now, we are working in small batches, getting the basics of the chemistry and processes right. It will be pivotal to scale up from this, then we really get to do the engineering math.”

Kayla Titus has been at RapiCure the longest, since last March. Her internship was so successful, it led to RapiCure hiring two additional interns: Ashley and Jackson.  

Originally from Minnesota, Kayla’s plan was to study biomedical engineering at CSU and create heart valves. As part of her program at CSU she needed to select a second major, “I fell more in love with chemistry than I did with mechanics. Working here, with chemicals to make this product, has me falling in love with making things.” She was drawn to RapiCure because the company was working with novel technology.  

At RapiCure she has been able to work on both the engineering and chemistry aspects of resin research, testing and trialing new materials and resin variations.  “It functions as a band-aid for a pipe,” she tells me referring to the resin RapiCure is developing. One of the variations Kayla developed turned out to be exactly what a potential customer needed, and now Kayla has a product, K-Gray, named after her.  

Like her fellow interns, she enjoys the collaborative environment and hands-on experience, particularly in developing resins for industrial pipe repair. Kayla's favorite part of the job is analyzing data to improve products. She is currently in her last semester at CSU, and Kayla hopes to stay in Colorado and leverage some of the new skills she has acquired at RapiCure. In addition to the hands-on chemistry skills, “In this internship, I have learned how to speak to all the professionals in the industry, speak knowledgably about the product, and market it.”