Special Seminar for Physics and Astronomy Students: Inside Perspective on How a Research Oriented Company Works

Kevin Gotrik, 3M scientist 
Inside Perspective on How a Research Oriented Company Works
 
 

Abstract: 3M is among the largest multinational corporations that also possess their own research and development labs. Technological corporations that manage to exist for >100 years (since 1902) are rare but they do share cultural similarities that point to keys to successfully transitioning fundamental and applied research over the innovators ‘Valley of Death’ into successful products. In this talk, the question of how best to bring science out of the lab and into the world will be explored.

Bio: Kevin Gotrik holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where he worked on synchrotron studies of polymer thin films. During this time he had the opportunity to work in Germany both at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden and at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology in Stuttgart. He obtained his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013, where he worked under Prof. Caroline Ross on annealing strategies for block copolymer thin films and with Prof. Karl Berggren on strategies for finely controlling nanoscale self-assembly with electron beam lithography. Since 2013, Kevin has worked at 3M in the corporate labs working on applications of nanoscale thin films and has filed over 50 patents (5 granted). Since graduating he has shared his experience as a scientist in industry by speaking to students at MIT, Columbia University (NYC), and the Federico Santa María Technical University in Chile.


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