1 5 A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 In what way are you an entrepreneur or inventor? Aaron Birt: As an entrepreneur, co-founder, and CEO of Solvus, I’ve had essentially just one job for the last five years: Create a vision of the future and guide our team to achieving it. We’ve had to actually invent what entrepreneurship looked like along the way. Our business model is totally unique in the field, and it’s something for which we are particularly proud. Beyond the unique “end-to-end venture building” model that we’ve developed, each of our areas of business in and of itself requires extensive invention and innovation. From novel powder materials to advanced materials processing to unique data storage methods, our team had to invent our way through every technical and business problem that we’ve ever faced. Ho Lun Chan: My personal story is best described by my childhood fascination with abandoned electronics. I was born and raised in Hong Kong where hundreds of abandoned machinery parts and electronic devices were being hoarded and sold per unit weight weekly in an open street market. For me, it was a cluster of treasures. During my teens, I designed a flashlight that could power a LED light for a couple minutes with a simple pulling of a string and a metal box that converts waste heat into thermoelectricity for incineration applications. In my second year of college, I was encouraged to participate in the Cal Poly Pomona NSF I-Corps program, which is accelerated training that prepares scientists and students to commercialize their ideas coupled with generous financial support. During this project, my friend JanamDave and I designed a rapid labeling device that can improve labeling speed, accuracy, and traceability for high-throughput laboratory experiments in the biomedical industry. We also interviewed corporate executives, potential customers, and conference exhibitors to find beta testers and learn how to be a good inventor and entrepreneur. We eventually succeeded in applying for several project grants and collaborating with companies willing to test our product. Frauke Hogue: After working for a fastener company for 10 years, I started my own consulting company in metallography. As far as I knew, this had never been done before. Through ASM, I knew several organizations in the failure analysis field who needed metallographic services but did not need a full-time metallographer. I did not want a full-time position because I had two small children at home and I wanted to spend time with them. Hanchen Huang: Together with two former Ph.D. students, I co-founded a startup company, MesoGlue Inc. Our path is probably typical for many university scholars. We first discovered the scientific origin of why metallic nanorods from physical vapor deposition are nano. Based on this discovery, we formulated analytical theories of nanorod dimensions and spacing. Guided by these theories, we experimentally synthesized the smallest and yet well-separated metallic nanorods through physical vapor deposition. Using these nanorods, we invented metallic glue that sets at room temperature but functions at high temperatures and we received a U.S. patent. MesoGlue Inc. commercializes the metallic glue for glass-metal bonding, thermal interface bonding, and die bonding. Mukta Kulkarni: I am an entrepreneur and in a small way also an innovator. I am always ready to take on challenges to produce difficult castings or alloys. This has led to innovative development for many of our customers. My company’s focus has always been on developing new castings for new applications and innovating ways to achieve the results. Jean Mozolic: I started my career in a rather standard way. In 1975, I graduated from MIT with a B.S./M.S. in materials science and joined the workforce as a sales engineer for Union Carbide Coatings Service. Over my 47-year career in the MesoGlue, co-invented by Hanchen Huang, can be used for die bonding. Specimen of cast zinc, prepared by Frauke Hogue of Hogue Metallography, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
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