About
One engineer. Start to finish.
I'm RT Williams, PhD, CEM. Founder of Pathline Foundry. I've spent nearly a decade going into commercial and industrial facilities — conducting research, leading energy audits, and building software tools to help them operate smarter.
I started this firm because I kept seeing the same pattern: a building gets an audit report, it goes on a shelf, and nothing changes. I wanted to be the person who stays.
Background
I've been doing energy engineering work since 2017. That started with field engineering on biomass boiler systems in Indiana, then on-site energy audits for manufacturers through the DOE Industrial Assessment Center. By the time I finished my honors degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Utah, I'd published two papers in Chemical Engineering Progress, earned an Engineering Entrepreneurship Certificate, and was the university's first Grand Challenge Scholar through the National Academy of Engineering.
I stayed at Utah for my PhD, where I partnered with the Giv Group and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as an ORISE IBUILD Research Fellow. I built digital twins of real multifamily buildings, developed optimization models linking grid operations with building-side energy use, and published four more papers. I also grew the university's ASHRAE chapter from 2 to 21 members and led DOE-funded energy assessments for manufacturers across Utah and Idaho.
During my PhD, I co-founded smartMFG Solutions and built a forecasting platform that improved a natural gas marketer's accuracy by 49% and saved them $170K a year in penalty costs. Signed the first client within two months, financially solvent in three, fully deployable product in five.
After completing my PhD and stepping away from smartMFG, I moved to Boise to be closer to family and raise my son. But I've never been someone who stops building. Every role I've had has started the same way: I see a system that isn't working as well as it could, and I can't leave it alone until I've made it better. Pathline Foundry grew out of a problem I kept seeing across every facility I'd walked through: buildings get audit reports, they go on shelves, and nothing changes. I wanted to build a practice where the engineer who does the analysis is the same one who stays through implementation. That same instinct drives everything I work on, whether it's energy systems, software, or the way organizations make decisions together.
IBUILD Research Fellows, Oak Ridge (2024) · Presenting at DOE peer review (2025) · Utah's Fresh Face of the Year in Engineering (2024)
Credentials & Recognition
Certified Energy Manager (CEM)
Association of Energy Engineers · Active
Industry-standard certification for energy management professionals. First certified in 2023, renewed in 2026, valid through 2029.
PhD in Chemical Engineering
University of Utah · 2025
Dissertation on optimizing affordability and sustainability in electrified multifamily buildings. 3 peer-reviewed publications.
Utah's Fresh Face of the Year in Engineering
Utah Engineering Council · 2024
State-wide recognition for high-achieving engineers within five years of completing their education. Nominated by the Utah ASHRAE chapter.
Intermountain Sustainability Summit — People's Choice Poster
Intermountain Sustainability Summit · 2024
Top-voted poster presenting research on energy modeling and optimization for electrified multifamily buildings.
ASHRAE Building EQ Competition — 1st Place
ASHRAE Student Chapter · 2023
Led a team of four to top honors for an energy audit of a large commercial facility, lowering the Building EQ score from 114 to 84.
ORISE IBUILD Research Fellow
DOE Building Technologies Office · 2022
Graduate research fellowship administered by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, focused on building decarbonization and energy modeling.
EnergyTech UP National Finals — Technology Bonus Prize
DOE Office of Technology Transitions · 2022
Top 9 team in a national competition of 150+ teams. Awarded the Technology Bonus Prize for pitching cold climate heat pump technology at the DOE finals.
ARCS Scholar
Achievement Rewards for College Scientists · 2021
Competitive fellowship recognizing outstanding PhD researchers in science and engineering across the country.
NAE Grand Challenge Scholar
National Academy of Engineering · 2021
First student at the University of Utah to earn this distinction — a national program recognizing engineers working on humanity's grand challenges.
Engineering Entrepreneurship Program
University of Utah · 2021
One of the first students to complete the Engineering Entrepreneurship Certificate. Returned as a TA in Fall 2021 and created the College of Engineering's first entrepreneurial pitch competition, still running annually.
Beyond energy consulting
Beyond Pathline Foundry, I'm part of Longlight, a venture system built on a different premise: what if profit fueled trust instead of eroding it?
Longlight builds upstream companies and cultures where truth, integrity, and relational coherence aren't aspirational values but operating conditions. Each company in the constellation reinvests a portion of profits to strengthen the system and illuminate the next venture.
My focus within Longlight is Elephant Engine, a software instrument that helps groups surface their honest collective perception on a challenge, so better decisions become possible downstream.
This work is separate from Pathline Foundry's energy consulting practice, but it comes from the same instinct: helping people see what's actually happening so they can make better decisions.
The personal
Based in Meridian, Idaho with my wife and son. When I'm not in a boiler room or writing code, I'm usually spending time with family, traveling, or watching movies — I've got 1,750+ logged on Letterboxd and counting.
Published Work
6 publications across energy systems, building decarbonization, and chemical engineering.
“Optimizing grid coordination and affordability in electrified multifamily buildings via real-time pricing”
Williams, Matthew RT, Ethan Gallup, and Kody Powell (2026). Energy Reports 15, p. 109173.
“Intermountain Auditors Unveil Energy Efficiency Solutions”
Williams, Matthew, John Constantinide, and Eleazar Rivera Mata (2025). ASHRAE Journal 67(11).
“Sustainability and affordability of building electrification: A state-by-state holistic approach for multifamily buildings”
Williams, Matthew RT, Chris Parker, Amanda Dillon, Blake Billings, and Kody Powell (2024). Sustainable Cities and Society 109, p. 105515.
“The impact of the electrification of buildings on the environment, economics, and housing affordability: A grid-response and life cycle assessment approach”
Williams, Matthew RT, Michael Reynolds, Chris Parker, Jianli Chen, and Kody Powell (2023). Digital Chemical Engineering 7, p. 100086.
“Detailed Capital Cost Estimation”
Williams, Matthew RT, Ted J Williams, and John A Williams (2021). Chemical Engineering Progress 117(8), pp. 52–55.
“Early-Stage Capital Cost Estimation”
Williams, Ted J, Matthew (RT) Williams, and John A Williams (2021). Chemical Engineering Progress 117(4), pp. 42–47.
Additionally presented research at 8 conferences including DOE BTO Peer Review, AIChE Annual Meeting, ASHRAE Winter Conference, and the IBUILD Symposium at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
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