ICAL Staff Bio’s
Josh began his career in chemistry at Eastern Washington University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and degrees in physics and biology. His quest for a deeper understanding of science led him to graduate school, where he attended the joint doctoral program at the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University. Josh saw the problems in the analytical cannabis industry with the lack of analytical research and public understanding associated with it. He wanted to change this, and with his knowledge and passion for the industry, Josh founded the lab with fellow chemist Dave Marelius in 2016. Together they’ve made it InfiniteCAL’s mission to ensure only safe; quality products are allowed to be sold to consumers.
Born and raised in San Diego, Dave attended San Diego State University in 2009, where he received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Dave then went on to earn his Ph.D. from the joint doctoral program between SDSU and the University of California, San Diego, where, for his graduate work, he utilized organic and organometallic synthesis to make catalysts for water splitting, the conversion of water into oxygen and hydrogen for energy storage. As a graduate student, he received the IPMI Richard Rubin Memorial Scholarship in 2014 for his research in precious metals. He decided to apply his knowledge and experience to the cannabis industry and has assisted in developing industry-leading methods of analysis for cannabis and hemp testing since co-founding the lab in 2016.
Dillon earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from San Diego State University while conducting research on the synthesis and characterization of novel fluorescent compounds. He went on to earn his master’s degree in Chemistry from SDSU and has since applied his knowledge to the cannabis industry. Dillon is one of the first scientists to join the ICAL team and has quickly become an invaluable asset. As much as he loves screening for pesticides, Dillon also enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and exploring California’s beautiful national parks with his dog, Luna.
Jayneil grew up in Austin, TX, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry at the University of Texas, Austin. After a one-and-a-half-year stint as a synthetic chemist in a kilo-scale lab in Madison, WI, Jayneil came to San Diego to pursue his Ph.D. in the joint doctoral program at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. There he designed and synthesized organometallic catalysts for the water-splitting reaction, a highly- promising route to derive hydrogen fuel simply from water. Jayneil joined the ICAL team back in 2018 and has been our trusted heavy metal analyst since.
Erik grew up in San Diego, CA, and received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of California, Riverside. He continued his studies in Riverside to obtain a teaching credential and then taught high school chemistry in Burbank, CA, for five years. His passion for learning brought him back to San Diego to study organometallic chemistry in the Joint Doctoral Program at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diego. His projects involved the development of catalysts for the selective migrations of double bonds in organic molecules. Erik’s focus since joining Infinite in 2019 has been the validation and development of potency, residual solvent, and terpenes analyses.