Team
Management
Dr. Steven Oldenburg - Founder and CEO
steven.oldenburg@nanocomposix.com · 858-565-4227 x111
Ph.D. in Applied Physics, Rice University
Steve has over 17 years of nanotechnology experience beginning with his graduate work at Rice University where he discovered a method of fabricating gold nanoshells, a nanoscale composite material that consists of a spherical silica core surrounded by an ultra-thin shell of gold. The unique optical properties of this nanostructure led to the formation of Nanospectra Biosciences where the gold nanoshells are in clinical trials as a novel cancer therapy. After Rice, he joined Seashell Technology where he was the PI on over $4M of government grants investigating new applications of nanotechnology in fields ranging from defense to biotechnology. In 2004, Steven and Oanh founded nanoComposix, an early stage R&D company focused on commercializing precisely manufactured and highly characterized nanoparticles for industrial and research markets. He has over 25 nanotechnology publications and 5 issued patents.
Ms. Oanh Nguyen - Founder and Board Member
oanh.nguyen@nanocomposix.com
B.Sc. in Biochemistry, University of Washington
Oanh Nguyen has over 11 years of research experience in both academic and industrial settings with expertise in the field of molecular biology and genetics. In the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Washington, she developed screening techniques for large polymorphic duplications and subtelomeres using flow sorted chromosomal library leading to the discovery of two novel olfactory genes. At the University of California San Diego she conducted developmental studies on proteins of the prolyl-isomerase family in Drosophila and created the first knock-out of a major cyclophilin protein in Drosophila. Prior to working at nanoComposix, she was the technical associate at Pacific Horizon Ventures where she conducted scientific, IP, and market due diligence for emerging technologies in the life science industry. Oanh played a key role in private equity fund raising and participated on the board of several portfolio companies. In 2004, she co-founded nanoComposix with Steven Oldenburg and was the Chief Operating Officer until 2010. Oanh remains actively involved on nanoComposix's board of directors providing strategic and financial oversight.
Research Leads
Dr. Richard Baldwin - Research Lead in Bionanotechnology
richard.baldwin@nanocomposix.com · (858) 565-4227 x114
Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry, Australian National University
After receiving his PhD, Richard completed postdoctoral research at UCIrvine working on homogeneous olefin amination catalysis and silsesquioxane materials. He then worked with silicon nanoparticles for solar energy collection at UC Davis, and developed novel fluorescent nanoparticles for in vivo imaging at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Richard has a diverse background in both biological systems and synthetic inorganic chemistry, and he leads bionanotechnology projects in drug delivery, molecular imaging, and wound healing.
Dr. Tom Darlington - Research Lead in Composites
tom.darlington@nanocomposix.com · (858) 565-4227 x125
Ph.D. in Macromolecular and Cellular Structure and Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute
Tom is a research scientist with 18 years experience in composite research, nanomaterial fabrication & integration, chemistry, analytical assay development, and molecular & cell biology. Tom is developing technology in the areas of self-healing carbon fiber composites, thermal interface materials, transparent conductive thin films, lightning strike prevention, and conductive morphable skins for UAVs. He joined nanoComposix in 2005 and leads multifunctional composite and nanomaterial production and synthesis efforts.
Dr. David Sebba - Research Lead in Plasmonics and Nanophotonics
dave.sebba@nanocomposix.com · (858) 565-4227 x126
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University
Dave has a diverse background in plasmonics, plasmon enhanced optics and spectroscopy, physical and colloidal chemistry, and nanomaterial characterization. After receiving his PhD, Dave completed postdoctoral research at the La Jolla Bioengineering Institute where he developed novel bimetallic nanoparticle surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) tags for biosensing applications and helped develop a high throughput single nanoparticle flow spectroscopy instrument. His work at nanoComposix is focused on developing plasmonic particles and particle structures with specific optical signatures for optical, diagnostic, and defense related applications.
Mr. John Holecek - Research Lead in Obscurants and Signature Management
john.holecek@nanocomposix.com · (858) 565-4227 x151
M.S. in Earth Science from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
John's background is in the effects of natural and anthropogenic aerosols on climate, and has researched atmospheric events ranging from brown clouds in the tropics to ozone loss in the Arctic. He has extensive experience with aerosol characterization instruments, mass spectrometry, chemi-luminescece instruments, and pulsed laser systems. John is currently leading projects that utilize metal nanoparticles as novel obscurants to block visible, near-IR, and mid-IR regions of the spectrum.
Research Support
Mr. Martin Miranda
Martin has 7 years of industry experience including organic small molecule synthesis, RxD of dye and pigmented ink formulation, and protocol development. Before coming to nanoComposix, Martin worked as a Chemical Technician at HP. He joined nanoComposix in 2009 and as Product Manger is responsible for the development, production, quality control, and safety of product manufacturing.
Mr. Charles Holz
Charles is a research associate with a background in colloidal chemistry and nanomaterial characterization. Charles fabricates gold, silver, and other metal and metal oxide nanoparticle formulations, and develops conjugation protocols to functionalize these nanomaterials with a variety of ligands and biomolecules.
Mr. Josh Icuss
Josh Icuss graduated from UCSD in 2008 with a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering. Josh has a diverse set of responsibilities ranging from computational analysis to system automation. Josh is developing next generation obscurants as well as automating nanomaterial characterization and data analysis.
Mr. James Mullinix
James graduated from SDSU with a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and is responsible for all IT and instrumentation at nanoComposix. He supports a wide variety of R&D projects that include obscuration and composite engineering, and develops custom algorithms for data analysis.
Mr. Sage Olson
Sage is a research associate with a background in nanostructured biomaterials. He graduated from UCSD with a B.Sc. in Bioengineering and currently fabricates a wide range of nanoparticles including nanoparticles compatible with organic media, drug delivery nanoparticles, and multi-layer composite nanoparticles. Sage is also nanoComposix's web master and graphic artist.
Product Support
Ms. Elizabeth Ward
Liz graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a B.A. in Science and Management. As Product Specialist, she uses her prior experience fabricating, processing, and characterizing nanomaterials to fulfill orders, assist customers with sales and technical questions, and manage inventory.