Hello, I'm
Breveruos Sheheade
PhD Chemist & Chemical Engineer
Currently building a local-first smart-home system with AI agents
I make complex, multi-step processes work reliably by tracing failures to their root cause, optimizing conditions and weighing design trade-offs with simulation before building. During my PhD I engineered DNA molecular motors; since 2025 I've brought the same approach to AI-assisted engineering across hardware, software and data.
About Me
I'm a chemist and chemical engineer who likes making complex, multi-step systems work reliably. I hold a PhD in Chemistry from Ben-Gurion University, where I also completed a double B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. Based in Kfar Yasif, Israel.
During my PhD in Prof. Eyal Nir's lab, I engineered DNA molecular motors, from externally controlled toward autonomous operation: I traced low yields to their root cause, scaled up a multi-step assembly process, designed parts by simulation before building them, and used kinetic modeling and optimization to design an autonomous mechanism.
Since my PhD, I've been building a local-first smart-home system that fits existing homes: architecture, device evaluation and bench testing, custom firmware, and automations that survive device failures. I build it with AI agents (Claude Code, Codex) that I run on long engineering tasks, with checks against stated requirements.
I thrive in multidisciplinary settings and am eager to contribute to innovative projects across engineering, R&D and technology. I bring a collaborative mindset focused on delivering impactful solutions.
Projects
Micrometer-Long DNA Origami Track
Joining DNA origami tiles into a ~1 µm six-unit track, the foundation for micrometer-scale walker experiments. Led from my senior B.Sc. year through the PhD.
Key Achievements:
- Root-cause analysis: traced low origami tile dimerization yield to leftover strands blocking binding sites and to tiles sticking edge to edge; fixing both raised yield to 99%, vs. a typical 80%.
- Scale-up: built a ~1 µm six-unit track at ~90% yield by hierarchical assembly (PEG-cleaned monomers, gel-purified trimers), and wrote NuCraft, an algorithm that designs connector sequences to avoid unintended binding.
DNA Origami Rotary Motor
A ~90 nm rotary motor: a stator disc with a circular foothold track, joined by a swivel to an upper disc that carries a bipedal walker and a gold nanorod for optical tracking.
Key Achievements:
- Iterative in-silico design: designed flat ~90 nm discs by coarse-grained and all-atom simulation of layout, layers and base deletions, later confirmed by Cryo-TEM; wrote a MATLAB scaffold-redundancy analyzer for correct folding.
- Fabrication: screened folding, passivation and storage conditions, fixed unwanted disc pairing, and raised the yield of joining the two discs into the rotor body from 6% to ~80% by one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) optimization.
- Integration and walking: synthesized gold nanorods as orientation reporters for defocused light-scattering tracking; under external microfluidic control, rotors made 96 commanded steps (8 full turns), recovering from errors.
Autonomous Propulsion Mechanism
A mechanism that makes the rotor turn on its own: a DNA walker fueled by hairpins, with no external commands. Designed and tested in simulation.
Key Achievements:
- First-principles design: reviewed DNA walker and reaction-motif literature, identified what prevents autonomous stepping, and methodically derived a novel enzyme-free, hairpin-fueled mechanism in which rotor geometry breaks symmetry.
- Kinetic modeling: to test the design, mapped all possible states (62) and reactions between them (239) in a COPASI model with literature rate constants; simulations confirmed every pathway ends in a forward step or an error, with no traps.
- Multidimensional optimization: mapped all the sequence motifs and parameters that set the kinetics, and ran automated particle-swarm optimization for the best set: a predicted ~99% yield per step at ~3 min/step, robust to worst-case rates.
Local-First Smart-Home System
Independent R&D since 2025: a smart-home system built around local control, engineered with AI agents.
Key Achievements:
- System architecture: designed a local-first smart home that fits existing homes without new wiring: Zigbee and Wi-Fi device layer, mesh network, local server with open-standard integration and remote access; core functions work offline.
- IoT evaluation: set requirements per use case (local control, failure behavior, cost), surveyed the market, bench-tested the candidates (presence sensors, valves, cameras, routers) and picked the best fit for each role.
- Customization & integration: adapted off-the-shelf devices to the design: custom ESPHome sensor firmware with on-device calibration, OpenWrt mesh firmware tuned for roaming and bufferbloat, and automations that survive device failures.
- AI-assisted engineering: uses AI agents (Claude Code, Codex) on long engineering tasks (firmware, software, research): goal-driven loops checked against requirements, orchestrator–subagent runs that prevent context bloat, on-demand skills, MCP to drive other software (CAD, browsers), computer use where no API exists, and human checks where models cannot self-verify.
Skills & Expertise
Click a skill marked i for details.
Analysis & Modeling
Software for simulation, sequence design and quantitative data analysis.
Systems & Hardware
Building and running the smart-home system and this website.
AI & ML
AI agents on long engineering tasks; machine learning on molecular data.
Laboratory
DNA origami fabrication and purification during my PhD.
Languages
Education
Direct-Track Ph.D. in Chemistry
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Prof. Eyal Nir Lab, Chemistry Department
Research: DNA molecular motors, from externally controlled toward autonomous operation.
Double B.Sc. – Chemical Engineering & Chemistry
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Nanotechnology-Specialized Program
Chemical Engineering (senior project: butyl alcohol production plant design) and Chemistry (specialized in physical chemistry, research on DNA origami dimerization).
Work Experience
Independent R&D – AI & Automation Systems
Local-first smart-home system
Designed a local-first smart home that fits existing homes without new wiring, from architecture and device evaluation to custom firmware and automations, using AI agents on long engineering tasks.
Teaching Assistant
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
General Chemistry lab instructor for undergraduate students from various programs, including pharmacy, biology, and chemistry.
Publications
Peer-reviewed publications, preprints, and manuscripts in preparation.
Self-Assembly of DNA Origami Heterodimers in High Yields and Analysis of the Involved Mechanisms
Sheheade, B., Liber, M., Popov, M., Berger, Y., Khara, D. C., Jopp, J., & Nir, E.
A High-Performance and Recoverable DNA Origami Rotary Motor
Shapira, H., Sheheade, B., Basak, S., Khara, C., & Nir, E.
High-Performance, Computer-Controlled Bipedal DNA Motor
Basak, S., Berger, Y., Perel, O., Shapira, H., Tomov, T. E., Sheheade, B., Tsukanov, R., Uralevitch, M., & Nir, E.
Fabrication of a Micrometer Long DNA Hexamer Nanoribbon at High Yield and Purity
Sheheade, B., Popov, M., Basak, S., Shapira, H., Khara, D. C., & Nir, E.
Get In Touch
I'm currently open to new opportunities in engineering, R&D and technology. Whether you have a question or just want to connect, I'll do my best to get back to you!
Designed & Built by Breveruos Sheheade | 2026
vibe coded ;)