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| UC San Diego NanoEngineering Ph.D. candidate Aliaksandr (Alex) Zaretski |
The large-scale graphene tin live on used for applications such equally flexible electronics in addition to H2O desalination membranes.
“Graphene is to a greater extent than conductive than whatever metallic nosotros know of in addition to it’s 200 times stronger than steel because of the means the atoms bond to cast a hexagonal designing (think of chicken wire) with a cloud of costless electrons hovering to a higher house in addition to below it,” said UC San Diego NanoEngineering Ph.D. candidate Aliaksandr (Alex) Zaretski.
According to Zaretski,no i has been able to create graphene on a large-enough scale for industrial applications.
According to Zaretski,no i has been able to create graphene on a large-enough scale for industrial applications.
There are ways to attain it – graphene tin live on grown on a copper substrate in addition to pried off, but entirely afterwards a few hours inwards an acid bath.
As an intern at Cornell University nether the mentorship of graphene skillful Paul McEuen, Zaretski had an idea. What if graphene could live on liberated from its substrate past times overcoming the adhesion strength with a greater force?
Determined to pursue this interrogation project, Zaretski arrived at UC San Diego equally a NanoEngineering master’s student. Under the supervision of Darren Lipomi, professor of NanoEngineering, Zaretski developed a method inwards which graphene is grown on a copper substrate in addition to overlaid with a canvass of nickel. Because graphene adheres ameliorate to nickel than to copper, the entire graphene single-layer tin live on easily removed in addition to remains intact over large areas.
“The layer of nickel yet needs to live on removed using an acid bath, but it takes entirely a few seconds, rather than a few hours,” said Zaretski. “This method is much to a greater extent than damage effective in addition to fourth dimension efficient for majority production.”
“Once I had plenty bear witness that my persuasion was feasible, I began looking for aid to commercialize my technology,” said Zaretski. “I was interning at the Torrey Pines Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) at the time, in addition to i of the senior scientists recommended that I participate inwards a pitch contest called the UC San Diego Entrepreneur Challenge. That was actually the beginning.”
At that time, Zaretski was looking to transfer into the nanonengineering Ph.D. plan at UC San Diego. He joined Lipomi’s lab, where he was encouraged to explore his ideas.
"Alex is amount of creativity," said Lipomi. "He is the variety of educatee a faculty fellow member encounters entirely rarely inwards his or her career. I have got been happy to back upward Alex's interrogation in addition to entrepreneurship, in addition to his is the firstly startup originating from our laboratory."
Zaretski founded GrollTex, a fellowship that seeks to commercialize a novel method of fabricating large-area single-atom monolayer sheets of transparent graphene.
After winning the UC San Diego Entrepreneurship Challenge, Zaretski caught the attending of Rosibel Ochoa, Senior Executive Director, Entrepreneurism in addition to Leadership Programs at the Jacobs School of Engineering, who suggested he apply to the Southern California Clean Energy Technology Acceleration Program at the von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism.
“It was a actually eye-opening experience,” said Zaretski. “I non entirely had bully peers inwards the program, I also had bully mentors who propelled my describe organisation persuasion to the terra firma of a feasible high-tech startup”
With the funding he received through the plan in addition to the Entrepreneurship Challenge, combined with interrogation funding from Lipomi, Zaretski was able to buy a reactor to grow graphene on copper in addition to demonstrate a novel method of transferring it to flexible substrates. Last year, alongside several other graduate students from the Jacobs School of Engineering, Zaretski was awarded the prestigious three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship to farther his graphene related research.
Things took off – Zaretski in addition to Lipomi patented the engineering through UC San Diego’s Technology Transfer Office in addition to obtained an exclusive license. From there, he went on to cast a nitty-gritty squad past times hiring a CEO – Jeff Draa, President of Tech Coast Angels. Grolltex has also received pre-seed investment from the UC San Diego affiliated Triton Technology Fund.
GrollTex wins firstly prize California Dreamin’ Competition
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| Aliaksandr (Alex) Zaretski at Chapman University’s 4th Annual California Dreamin’ Business Plan Competition inwards April |
An invitation-only event, California Dreamin’ is a nationwide entrepreneurially-focused higher teaching competition. This year’s contest took house Apr 24-25, 2015 at Chapman University’s campus inwards Orange, CA. It featured 28 schools competing for prize coin in addition to potential equity investment, along with connections to venture upper-case missive of the alphabet firms.
GrollTex crunch out 27 other companies showcasing everything from smartphone apps to novel drugs for the move past times location inwards the competition.
The futurity of GrollTex
After representing UC San Diego inwards Chapman University’s 4th Annual California Dreamin’ Business Plan Competition, Zaretski hopes to hold networking with the potential investors in addition to venture upper-case missive of the alphabet firms that were inwards attendance.
“We’re currently talking with companies nearly lab infinite in addition to strategic partnerships,” said Zaretski.
Zaretski says none of this would live on possible if it weren’t for the unique civilization at UC San Diego that fosters entrepreneurship.
Zaretski says none of this would live on possible if it weren’t for the unique civilization at UC San Diego that fosters entrepreneurship.
“That’s i of the reasons I chose UC San Diego,” said Zaretski. “I wanted to become to a graduate schoolhouse where my ideas would non entirely live on accepted, but embraced in addition to nurtured. It’s because of programs in addition to centers such equally von Liebig in addition to mentors such equally Rosibel Ochoa that GrollTex has come upward this far.”
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