Jim Etro

Founder, President, Itri Corporation, agrariusLLC

Imagine remote-controlled, unmanned airplanes, not unlike those that search for nuclear weapons in hot spots around the world, being put to use for water conservation and energy savings.

That’s the way Jim Etro’s mind works. Jim’s passion is taking things that have been used in one area for one purpose and find new uses for them - uses that help people in their daily lives.

A meteorologist and oceanographer for the United States Navy for 25 years, Jim has repurposed technologies employed by the Defense Department to predict weather and map the ocean floor and employs them to help companies and individuals manage resources more effectively.

Jim, who has degrees in environmental science from the Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School, worked as a corporate scientist and program manager in private industry for five years and has founded two businesses since his retirement from the Navy in 1998. He is president of Itri Corporation in Virginia , which develops the technology, and agrarius LLC in Monterey , California , which puts the technologies to practical use.

Using various types of equipment — including small unmanned aircraft and 50-foot-high scopes mounted on trucks or vans — equipped with thermal, visual and infrared cameras, Jim is able to obtain images that provide valuable information on buildings and agricultural land. The images are analyzed and recommendations made as to how to resolve problems and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the operations.

With his technology, Jim is able to help clients see things they wouldn’t otherwise be able to see. Images captured of a farm field, for example, may reveal over-watering in a particular area or detect the presence of disease, allowing the farmer to make site-specific modifications that save resources. Likewise, a thermal readout of a building may reveal inadequate insulation, water leakage or other culprits that result in energy losses.

“We have a group of technologies that allow us to see environments and structures and go back and treat them appropriately,” says Jim, who has recently been designated a Certified Green Building Professional by Build It Green, a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote healthy, energy- and resources-efficient building practices in California.

Though it sounds like these kinds of analyses would be costly, Jim has made them affordable to the average pocketbook. At a time when people are highly conscious of energy costs and wise use of natural resources, Jim helps his clients find solutions that are eco-nomic.