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Bootstrapping mass spectrometry, featuring Mazdak Taghioskoui of Trace Matters
Manage episode 422900356 series 3579185
He built a mass spectrometer from scratch and reinvented it in the process!
Bearing a smile, Mazdak “Maz” Taghioskoui says he immigrated to the United States from Iran for a good education and same-day shipping, two key features that have supported his focus on building – from scratch – a sophisticated next-generation analytical tool: the Trace Matters SPion mass spectrometer.
Maz is the Founder and CEO/CTO of Trace Matters, and we sat down with him for show-and-tell to discuss how he and his company is reinventing the mass spectrometer to save lives here on Earth and to advance our scientific understanding of the cosmos beyond our planet.
Show Notes
- Episode page, transcript, and podcast listening links: https://toughtechtoday.com/bootstrapping-mass-spectrometry/
- Mazdak on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mazdakoskui/
- Trace Matters (company): https://www.tracematters.com/
- Greentown Labs (workspace): https://greentownlabs.com/
- Harvard’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx): https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr2022263
- Subscribe with your favorite podcast service: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1169378/5983345
- Watch this show on Youtube: https://youtu.be/2wsX9bWqTj4
Topic Timecodes
00:54 A lesson in high school chemistry
03:44 History and benefits of mass spectrometry for space and medical applications
04:53 Screening newborn babies’ blood for disease mitigation
06:18 Instrumentation Startup: A tiny company in a world of corporates
07:15 Creating a mass spectrometer… from scratch
08:56 The fallacy of“if your system is complex and it’s working, you don’t change it”
10:11 How I built this
12:16 A case study in the 10,000 Hour Rule and brute force science
13:38 Seeing years of work finally come to fruition
17:24 Seeing SPion and the frog
18:53 Expediting mass spectrometry-assisted brain surgery
23:36 Show-and-tell in Maz’s lab
24:48 Inventing a lab-scale fabrication process
28:20 Following a vision or a wandering path?
30:08 Getting addicted to solving challenges
32:01 Immigrating to the United States for a great education and… quick shipping
33:26 The resources at Massachusetts’ Greentown Labs
34:37 Bootstrapping a scientific instrument company
37:32 A shift in how we build instruments?
39:36 Who could be first to benefit from next-generation mass spectrometry?
40:52 Integrating learnings into a tech roadmap
41:23 The Harvard Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program and COVID-19
42:12 Advice to a younger self: persistence, love, and remembering to eat
Tags
tough tech today,jmill,Jonathan Miller,Forrest Meyen,deep tech,hard tech,startup,entrepreneurship,venture capital,tough tech,tough technology,technology,podcast,Mazdak Taghioskoui,Trace Matters,Trace Matters LLC,Mass Spectrometry,SpIon,Spectrometer,Greentown Labs,Green town labs,Maz,NASA Mass Spectrometry,Mass Spec,Mass Spec surgery,NASA,Science,Physics,quadrupole mass spectrometer,how does a mass spectrometer work,how a mass spec works,meyen
Chapters
1. Bootstrapping mass spectrometry, featuring Mazdak Taghioskoui of Trace Matters (00:00:00)
2. A lesson in high school chemistry (00:00:54)
3. History and benefits of mass spectrometry for space and medical applications (00:03:44)
4. Screening newborn babies' blood for disease mitigation (00:04:53)
5. Instrumentation Startup: a tiny company in a world of corporates (00:06:18)
6. Creating a mass spectrometer... from scratch (00:07:15)
7. The fallacy of "if your system is complex and it's working, you don't change it" (00:08:56)
8. How I built this (00:10:11)
9. A case study in the 10,000 Hour rule and brute force science (00:12:16)
10. Seeing years of work finally come to fruition (00:13:38)
11. Seeing SPion and the frog (00:17:24)
12. Expediting mass spectrometry-assisted brain surgery (00:18:53)
13. Show-and-tell in Maz's lab (00:23:36)
14. Inventing a lab-scale fabrication process (00:24:48)
15. Following a vision or a wandering path? (00:28:20)
16. Getting addicted to solving challenges (00:30:08)
17. Immigrating to the United States for a great education and... same-day shipping (00:32:01)
18. The resources at Greentown Labs (00:33:26)
19. Bootstrapping a scientific instrument company (00:34:37)
20. A shift in how we build instruments? (00:37:32)
21. Who could be first to benefit from next-generation mass spectrometry? (00:39:36)
22. Integrating learnings into a tech roadmap (00:40:52)
23. COVID-19 and the Harvard Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program (00:41:23)
24. Advice to a younger self: persistence, love, and remembering to eat (00:42:12)
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