National Science Institute

For other uses, see Institute of Science.

The National Science Institute (NSI), previously known as The Geek Group, was a not-for-profit educational organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The group opened to the public on January 1, 2014, and said in May of that year that it had over 25,000 members in 142 countries.^[1]

National Science Institute

Abbreviation	NSI
Formation	1994; 31 years ago (1994)
Founder	Chris Boden
Founded at	Grand Valley State University
Dissolved	December 31, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-12-31)
Type	NGO
Legal status	501(c)(3) Non-profit
Purpose	Education
Location	Grand Rapids, MI
Formerly called	The Boehemian Brothers, GeNext! & The Geek Group

The organization's president and executive director chose to close the organization on December 31, 2018, following a sealed search warrant executed by the United States Department of Homeland Security and three other federal agencies.^[2] Two of its executives were sentenced to jail time, and one of its consultants received probation, for crimes at a bitcoin exchange service that it operated.^[3]

History

The organization was started in 1996 at the Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan as a group of friends, experimenting with university surplus equipment.^{[citation needed]} The group grew over several years, and several name changes into a small company, The Geek Group, leasing a building in Grand Rapids at 344 Ionia Ave SW. The Geek Group later moved to Kalamazoo and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.^[4] In early 2010 the Kalamazoo County Treasurer seized the organization's headquarters, which was then located in Kalamazoo Township, Michigan, a suburb of Kalamazoo, after the organization refused to pay property taxes of over $100,000.^[5][6] The organization appealed, unsuccessfully.

The organization moved back to Grand Rapids in December 2010^[7] a 43,000-square-foot (4,000 m²) facility situated on Leonard Street NW, dubbed "The Leonard Street Labs."^[8] On January 2, 2014, a fire partially destroyed the organization's High Voltage Lab, and deposited soot all over the lab. A grub screw on a Tesla coil rotary spark gap was not tight enough, allowing a tungsten electrode to move out of its socket and strike one of the stationary electrodes. This resulted in a chain reaction with molten tungsten being flung from the spark gap unit, which caused a nearby capacitor array to catch fire and subsequently melt. From preliminary analysis, Project Gemini (a 200,000 watt Tesla coil demonstration) looked to be the originating cause, and was completely destroyed, and Project Thumper (a high impulse generator) was damaged. The fire was hot enough to melt aluminum racks. Although no one was hurt, the building was closed to the public once again for repairs.^[9][10]

Federal raid and aftermath

On December 21, 2018, the National Science Institute's laboratory at 902 Leonard Street NW was raided by Homeland Security, the IRS, and several other federal agencies.^[11] After the raid, the NSI could not meet its financial obligations, and shut down on December 31, 2018.^[12][13] The Leonard Street Labs building was demolished to make way for Victory on Leonard, a 119-unit apartment building.^[14]

On January 5, 2019, Christopher Boden, the founder of the organization, said that the raid took place "because he was commercially trading in cryptocurrency without the proper authorization", and that he believed he was facing prison time.^[15] The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Boden, Daniel Reynold DeJager, and Leesa Beth Vogt operated a service whereby cryptocurrency was being purchased, mixed, and resold, including to drug dealers, without following any anti-money laundering or know your customer procedures. The DOJ also said that Boden solicited an undercover agent to collect a bitcoin debt "by using violence if necessary."^[16]

Boden pleaded guilty to money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and structuring,^[17] and was sentenced to 30 months' incarceration, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Vogt pleaded guilty to structuring, and was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. DeJager pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and was sentenced to four years of probation.^[3]

Sponsors

The organization was sponsored by many companies, the majority of them small businesses local to the organization, but also some larger companies such as Rustoleum. NSI supplemented this donation income by charging for some research and development services.^[18]

YouTube popularity

The organization ran a YouTube channel, serving as an extension of their digital education program. As of 2025, the channel had over 162,000 subscribers and 713 videos.^[19] In addition to technical tool training videos, the channel regularly produced several educational video series, including equipment autopsies and machine tutorials.