It's fair to say that UT
Dallas alumnus James R. Von Ehr II keeps a close eye on his business - down
to the nanometer.
His business is nanotechnology - the science of manufacturing materials
and devices smaller than 1 to 100 millionths of a millimeter - right down
to the manipulation of atoms and molecules.
Von Ehr, founder and chairman of Zyvex Corp., will talk about his success
with this new frontier of science as the guest speaker of the UT Dallas Entrepreneurship
Club on Thursday, Feb. 12, from 5:45 to 6:45 pm in the School of Management
Building, room 1.110.
The event is free and open to the public.The topic of his talk is commercializing
nanotechnology, the science and business of technology, and his company's progress
toward creating "digital matter."
"It's rare and exciting for a school to have such an active, successful
and charitable alumnus like Mr. Von Ehr agree to come back to his alma mater
to teach and inspire a new generation of students. We think this will be a great
event," said Michael Morelli, president of UT Dallas' Entrepreneurship
Club.
Recognized as a leader within the nanotechnology industry, Von Ehr founded
the Texas Nanotechnology Initiative and the Feynman Grand Prize in Nanotechnology.
His significant gifts established UT Dallas' NanoTech Institute, the James Von
Ehr Distinguished Chair of Science and Technology held by the late Nobel Laureate
Alan MacDiarmid, and the James Von Ehr Scholars program at Michigan State University.
Von Ehr is a Distinguished Alumni of UT Dallas and of Michigan State University,
where he received MSU's Claud Erickson Award, its highest engineering honor.
In 2004 he received the Richardson Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development
Leadership Award, and in 2007, was named Richardson's Citizen of the Year. Von
Ehr was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003.
The world's first commercial molecular nanotechnology manufacturing companies,
Zyvex is made up of:
- Zyvex Instruments, which works with the semiconductor industry.
- Zyvex Performance Materials, which produces high-performance nanomaterials
for the sporting goods and defense industries.
- Zyvex Labs, which is developing atomically precise manufacturing.
- Zyvex Asia, which is commercializing nanomanufacturing in Singapore.