CEO and Co-Founder
Joe A. Pugar
While studying engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, Joe researched many of the surface science principles that Aruga technology is based on. In 2015 he joined a research collaboration between Pitt's chemical engineering department and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's (UPMC) vascular surgery group. As the group's research on improved vascular implants developed, so did the commercial vision for the technology. Ultimately, Joe spun Aruga out of the University of Pittsburgh in Spring of 2018 and is a cofounder and the CEO.