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In 2006 expert was promoted to Director of Business Incubation at Boston University. He was responsible for incubating new technology companies originating from all disciplines at BU and other major research institutions in the region. In a period of four years under his leadership the BU Business Incubator Program grew to become one of the leading university incubators in the nation. Between 2006 and 2010, twenty incubator companies raised more than $100 million from local venture capital funds and private investors during one of the worst economic periods in history.

As a center of innovation, the Incubator Program demonstrated how a major research university could take on the mission of launching successful companies while simultaneously educating students and future business leaders.

Portfolio companies included FiberGrade, Solx, BioScale, A123 Systems, U.S. Genomics, Verrillon, Progenika, DNA Repair Company, Patient Flow Technologies, MPTV, SpringLeaf Therapeutics (formerly Entra Pharmaceuticals) and Good Start Genetics. FiberGrade, a telecommunications equipment company, was acquired by PXIT Inc. in 2004 and subsequently by Agilent in 2006. Solx, a medical device company, was acquired by Occulogix (NASDAQ: OCCX). A123 Systems (NASDAQ: AONE) raised $378M with an IPO. Patient Flow Technologies was acquired, and eQuilibrium Solutions was acquired by EnerNOC. Good Start Genetics closed an $18 million VC round, SpringLeaf closed a $19 million round and MTPV closed a $10 million series B round.


For the past fifteen years, expert has focused on innovation, technology commercialization and new business ventures. At Boston University he was Assistant Director of the Photonics Center with responsibilities for technology commercialization and corporate relations. He was responsible for sourcing deals, conducting due-diligence and negotiating equity/financing terms with founders and investors for new deals in the Center. He was responsible for developing business partnerships with senior executives, venture capitalists, private investors and government officials at the highest level. He conducted market analysis on the photonics industry and organized numerous business conferences and symposia.

He organized the Photonics Center’s annual Executive Symposium “The Future of Light”, one of the most prominent gatherings of business executives in the photonics industry at the time. Expert has strong interpersonal skills in diplomacy and international relations. He was invited by the Consulate of France to lead a delegation to tour companies, universities and government facilities in France and to consult on technology commercialization. At the invitation of the Canadian government, he established the Photonics Center as a founding member of the International Photonics Commercialization Alliance.

He has presented to high ranking government officials including the Chief Minister of Penang, Malaysia, the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry for France, the president of the National Research Council of Canada, the Consul Generals of the U.K., Canada, France, China and countless economic development officials from the governments of the U.K., Spain, Switzerland, China, Singapore, Norway, Ireland and Scotland. His work brought international recognition to Boston University.

For more than 20 years, expert has studied and conducted research into thin-film material science. He has published over 40 papers in the field and consulted for government and industry. His research has been in areas covering magnetic, optical, electronic, thermal, and mechanical properties of a wide variety of thin-film materials.

Expert has applied his knowledge of thin films to a wide array of technologies, including electronics, semiconductor devices, data storage media, magnetic recording media, thin film and MR recording heads, and microwave and infrared devices.

Expert has conducted research and published in the area of nucleation and growth of thin films, surface chemistry, organic monolayers, and chemical and plasma treatments of surfaces. He has studied friction and tribology as applied to data storage technology, diamond and DLC coatings, rubber and tire technology, and other applications. Throughout his career, expert has designed, built, modified, and invented vacuum processing equipment for specialized applications in research and development. He has worked with CVD, chemical and physical sputtering, plasma etching, plasma polymerization, evaporation, vapor sources, MBE, and UHV technologies.

Much of his earlier career has been devoted to the chemistry of carbon and its use in various forms in many industrial technologies. This work has centered on diamond-like carbon coatings, pure diamond thin films, graphite, carbon black, and carbon fiber technologies. His efforts have included the analysis of surface treatments for a variety of carbonatious surfaces and applications in bio-medical devices. Expert developed CVD diamond growth technology and conducted fundamental studies of the physical properties of diamond. This work led to the development of the highest purity CVD diamond at the time. At Raytheon, expert was program manager for an Air Force contract in diamond infrared materials technology.

Expert's research has been focused on understanding the relationships between atomic structure and properties of materials. He has made extensive use of such techniques as SEM, TEM, scanning tunnel and atomic force microscopies, RBS, SIMS, Auger, XPS, EXAFS, X-ray diffraction, STEM, thermal desorption, and many other techniques in the pursuit of understanding crystalline, amorphous, and monolayer materials.