Voda was founded to commercialize developments by David Fries and associates at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science, EcoSystems Technology Group.

 
The principals and their involvement in the company are noted below.

David Fries, Chief Technical Officer, acting Chief Executive Officer

David Fries, 46, was an original member of the Center for Ocean Technology at USF. He is the original author of USF's MEMS Program and Principal Scientist on multiple sensor technology projects. He is co-founder of Intelligent MicroPatterning LLC in St. Petersburg. He also was the original creator of the National Forensic Science and Technology Center in Largo. He has 14 patents issued, 16 pending, has licensed six technologies, and has more than 50 publications in oceanography, analytical chemistry, medical technology, biotechnology, engineering, microtechnology, electronics and robotics. He has held a past appointment at Sandia National Laboratories/Lockheed Martin. He holds a BS in Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, and a MS in Chemistry, University of South Florida. Fries serves as the company's Chief Technical Officer, overseeing Technical, Business Development activities and company direction. Additionally, Fries serves as the CEO of the company during its developmental stages.

 
Pragnesh H. Bhanushali, Chief Information Officer

Pragnesh Bhanushali, 27, has been a member of the engineering team at USF's Center for Ocean Technology since early 2005. Apart from sensor design and system integration, he also pursues his interest in wireless networking technologies and holds a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification. Bhanushali holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India, in 2001 and a MSEE with concentration in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) from the University of South Florida in 2004.

Stan Ivanov, Head of Development Engineering

Stan Ivanov, 24, has been a member of the engineering team at USF's Center for Ocean Technology since 2001. He has more than a dozen publications and several patents in process and has been a key innovator in two licensed technologies. Ivanov has supported several of the technologies being licensed by Voda from the University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Florida in 2005 and a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Control Systems from the University of South Florida in 2008.

Thomas Weller, Wireless Technology Advisor

Dr. Weller, 38,  has a career path that includes engineering positions at Hughes Aircraft Company and as a Software Developer for Edge Technology, a start-up robotics company. Dr. Weller is a tenured Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of South Florida. Currently Dr. Weller holds professional service positions as Vice President of Technical Operations for the IEEE Sensors Council, co-director of the Center for Wireless and Microwave Information Systems (USF), and is a member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society - Technical Planning Committee on radio frequency MEMS. He is also a technical reviewer for the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council and six professional journals. Dr. Weller received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1988, 1991 and 1995, respectively. He serves as a technology advisor to the company.