Megan O'Connor

Dr. Megan O'Connor is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Nth Cycle, a critical minerals refining company. Drawing on her background in environmental chemistry, Dr. O'Connor led the development of the company's patented electro-extraction platform, which underpins Nth Cycle's OYSTER refining system.

Dr. O'Connor holds a degree in chemistry from Union College, awarded in 2012, and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Duke University, awarded in 2017. She co-founded Nth Cycle that same year, establishing the company's early operations as an Entrepreneurial Fellow in the Department of Energy's Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory prior to relocating its headquarters to Massachusetts in 2020.

Under her leadership, Nth Cycle has raised more than $90 million in funding to commercialize its technology, becoming one of the first companies in the United States to refine recycled scrap into a premium nickel product, a critical input for AI, energy storage, consumer technology, and defense applications.

Dr. O'Connor's contributions to the field have been widely recognized, including Forbes' "30 Under 30" in Energy (2019), the Grist 50 (2022), Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Pioneer distinction (2023), TIME100's Most Influential Climate Leaders in Business (2024), Inc.'s Female Founders list (2025), and the Fin-Erth Award (2025).