Meet the team and their advisors
MesoMat is a startup aiming to revolutionize materials design and deliver innovative technology to market. Our team is passionate about helping to solve your materials related problems.
Our Team
Kari Dalnoki-Veress
Co-Founder
Kari has a PhD in physics from the University of Guelph. He is a professor at McMaster University and adjunct professor at the ESPCI in Paris. More information about Kari and his research can be found here.
Paul Fowler
Co-Founder
Paul has a BSc and MSc in physics from McMaster University. He has held research and teaching positions at McMaster University and the Max Planck Institute of Dynamics and Self-Organization. Prior to co-founding MesoMat, Paul helped lead R&D at the YCombinator backed Validere Technologies Inc.
Sukhbir Kalirai
Co-Founder
Sukhbir is an entrepreneur with a passion for solving complex industry problems. Sukhbir’s entrepreneurial pursuits include CanLeads, a leading Canadian political training incubator, and Angola’s first online retailer, EK-TAO. Previously, he was instrumental in developing the Tim Hortons brand internationally and building a new, profitable business for one of China’s leading fixed income hedge funds.
Clare Armstrong
Manager of R&D
Clare has a PhD in physics from McMaster University. She has experience in numerous areas of applied physics including optics, neutron scattering, membrane biophysics, and electrokinetics. Before joining the MesoMat team, Clare was the Manger of Research and Technology Development at ElectroKineic Solutions.
Élie Raphaël
Strategic & Scientific Partner
Élie has a PhD in physics from the Collège de France. He is a CNRS director of research and professor at the ESPCI in Paris. Élie is also the director of the Gulliver Laboratory at the ESPCI. More about Élie and his research can be found here.
Thomas Salez
Strategic & Scientific Partner
Thomas has a PhD in physics from the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. He is a CNRS research associate at the University of Bordeaux, as well as an assistant professor at Hokkaido University in Japan. More about Thomas and his research can be found here.
Advisory Board
John Dutcher
Expertise: Physics of soft matter, biophysics, nanobiomaterials, nanotechnology, biotechnology, technology transfer
John Dutcher received a PhD in condensed matter physics from Simon Fraser University in 1989. He was awarded an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship which he held at the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona before being recruited as a faculty member of the Department of Physics at the University of Guelph. He is the Senior Canada Research Chair in Soft Matter & Biological Physics and serves as Director of the Nanoscience Program at Guelph. Amongst many honours, Dutcher is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and received the Presidential Distinguished Professor Award and the Innovation of the Year Award from the University of Guelph. Dutcher is co-founder of the Guelph based company Mirexus Biotechnologies Inc.
Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Loo
Expertise: Chemical engineering, nanotechnology, materials science, plastic electronics, plastic solar cells, smart windows
Lynn Loo received a PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University and was a postdoctoral researcher at Bell Laboratories before joining the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2007, Loo returned to Princeton, where she is currently the Theodora D. '78 and William H. Walton III '74 Professor in Engineering and serves as the Director of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. Loo is a fellow of the American Physical Society and has received its John H. Dillon Medal. She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She received the Alan P. Colburn and Owens Corning Awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She was also recognized with a Sloan Fellowship and a Beckman Young Investigator Award.
Didier Roux
Expertise: Physical chemistry, soft-condensed matter, nanotechnology, research and development, business management
Didier Roux studied chemistry and physics at the École Normale Supérieure de Saint-Cloud, joined the CNRS in 1980, and received his PhD in 1984. Roux is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions including the Silver Medal and the Innovation Medal from the CNRS. He has participated in the creation of many start-ups, directed the Centre de Recherche Paul Pascal, was deputy scientific director of the chemical company Rhone Poulenc, member of Rhodia's scientific and technological council, and the Vice President of Research and Development at Saint- Gobain. Roux is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and of the French Academy of Technologies. In 2016, he was elected to the annual chair in Technological Innovation of the Collège de France. He is president of the Technopole Unitec (Bordeaux) and vice-president of the foundation La Main à la Pâte.
David A. Weitz
Expertise: Physics of soft matter, biophysics, microfluidics, technology transfer, biotechnology
David A. Weitz received his PhD in physics from Harvard. He worked at Exxon Research and Engineering and then became a Professor of Physics at the University of Pennsylvania. Weitz moved to Harvard in 1999 and is currently the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Applied Physics and Director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. Amongst many honours and accolades, Weitz is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Weitz serves as Co- Director of the BASF Advanced Research Initiative, and is a member of the Kavli Institute for Bionano Science & Technology at Harvard. Many technologies have been developed in his laboratory and Weitz is co- founder of over 20 start-up companies.