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.