The Terreform ONE/ Terreform X operations were cofounded by Mitchell Joachim and colleagues in early 2006. After having completed his doctoral studies at MIT and achieving emeritus status from a series of luminary architectural offices such as, I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry, and Moshe Safdie, Mitchell created a nonprofit think tank. The unique name was derived from the combination of the words: "terre" (earth, soil) and "reform" (rebuild, reconstruct, recreate). The original use of the term "terraform" in planetary engineering was a process of transforming the atmosphere to shape a more habitable living environment. Instead of a contrived copy of the earth elsewhere, as the definition of "terraform" commonly implies, this group seeks to reform the earth in place. The intention is to repair the atmosphere of our world by fostering designs that reform the current pollution causing trends.