Start Up the Science

Start Up the Science is the podcast of INAM, the Innovation Network for Advanced Materials, and it is built around one question for people from young companies: how did an idea from the lab turn into a business? Nahida leads the interviews. Episodes start with a scripted welcome, then she introduces the guest and asks them to introduce themselves. After that the conversation follows two lines at once. One is the technology, explained in real detail. The other is the business: who the customers are, who the competitors are, and what running a startup has really demanded. The companies cover a wide range of materials problems. Parastruct combines recyclable mineral binders with fine-grained wood waste, a byproduct of sawmills and furniture making that is usually burned, and one of its products, Bioscreed, is offered as a replacement for cement screed. Planck Technologies works on energy storage. Its founder and CEO, Maryam Ghadjadan, describes a screening approach that starts from the use case, weighs techno-economics and lifecycle assessment, and then searches a materials database with computational chemistry and machine learning. Her argument is that the work lies in finding the right material for the job, not in adding yet another new one. Barbara Bacchus, COO and co-founder of ExoMatter, describes an AI platform for materials development that she says produces first results in minutes, where lab work can take years. Maddy Maxey, CEO and founder of Loomia, explains a patented method for turning a mesh into a circuit, and why electronics that drape and conform compete differently from ones that bend along a single axis. Alex Blum of Applied Bioplastics talks about buying agricultural waste locally and changing how cellulose bonds during extrusion so the material can be injection molded. He also describes a version of the material that he calls fire retardant and shrapnel proof, which the company hopes to use in housing that can shelter families in conflict areas. Ryan of FaradaIC Sensors wants oxygen measurement to be cheap enough to collect everywhere, from food packages to human breath, and says other gases could come later. Sustainability runs through much of this, whether the subject is replacing cement, using waste streams or cutting CO2. The network's own role is visible too. Several guests first met INAM through its advanced materials competition or its incubator, so some episodes play as a catch-up with people the organization already knows. Nahida's questions are friendly and encouraging, and she reacts to each answer with open enthusiasm. Listeners hear founders describe their own materials businesses in concrete terms, and each conversation ends with an invitation to follow INAM on LinkedIn.