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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Walter Rich
Summary Sentence: Christopher Oberste, Weav3D, Inc., Founder and CEO
Full Summary: No summary paragraph submitted.
GTMI Lunch and Learn Series Banner Image
Christopher Oberste
Founder and CEO
Weav3D, Inc.
Virtual event link: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/taysbzfe
Abstract: University tech transfer is often characterized by a “valley of death” that exists between the university lab and the commercial market. Technologies leaving the university lose access to steady funding and support infrastructure of academia, while at the same time lacking the product-market fit and technologies readiness needed for swift commercial uptake. While this is broadly true for all university technology, advanced manufacturing is particularly impacted due to the higher capital cost of manufacturing development and a limited pool of manufacturing-focused angel investors and early stage venture capital. University entrepreneurs in this space must learn to combine lean startup principles, state and federal grants, and strategic partnerships to navigate this challenging path to market.
Oberste graduated from Georgia Tech in 2017 with a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering and a Doctoral Minor in Technology Commercialization, through the GT TI:GER program. Leveraging a combination of business plan competition winnings, grant and loan financing from the Georgia Research Alliance, and grants from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Oberste spun out a startup, WEAV3D Inc., to commercialize an advanced composite manufacturing technology shortly after graduating. In this presentation, Dr. Oberste will discuss the challenges facing the commercialization of innovations in the materials and manufacturing space and the process of transitioning a technology from a prototype in a university lab to a commercial product in the market through the lens of his experience founding and running WEAV3D Inc. over the past three years.
Biography: Christopher Oberste is the founder and CEO of WEAV3D Inc. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor of Polymer and Fiber Engineering from Auburn University. Christopher worked for eighteen months as a process engineer at GKN Aerospace North America as part of the Auburn University co-op program, gaining hands-on experience with state-of-the art composite manufacturing techniques. As a result, Christopher focused his Ph.D. thesis on developing novel, low-cost composite manufacturing processes, including the WEAV3D composite forming technology. He is named as the lead inventor on one issued patent and four patent applications related to the WEAV3D technology.
