On Nov. 6, the Institute for Matter and Systems (IMS) hosted its first Founders Night, an event designed to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, and researchers to showcase the institute’s world-class facilities and foster collaboration with Atlanta’s growing startup community. 

The evening began with Eric Vogel, executive director of IMS, outlining the institute’s role as a hub for interdisciplinary research and advanced manufacturing.

“We bring together faculty to go after large-scale interdisciplinary research and manage our micro-nanofabrication cleanroom and materials characterization facility, which serve about 1,000 users annually,” Vogel said.

He emphasized IMS’s three main pillars: research and innovation, education and workforce development, and core facilities. Vogel also invited attendees to share feedback on how IMS can better support Atlanta and Georgia’s innovation needs. 

The heart of the event was a series of lightning talks from entrepreneurs whose companies were born (or accelerated) within IMS core facilities. Their journeys underscored the impact of access and mentorship that IMS had on their careers.

Mason Chilmonczyk, CEO and co-founder of Andson Biotech, recounted his journey from Ph.D. student to startup founder. 

“Pretty much every step in this process required expertise from somebody in this room,” he said. “The Georgia Tech cleanroom was responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in fundraising because of the microfluidic technologies.”

Chilmonczyk’s product, the nyna chip, revolutionizes mass spectrometry sample preparation, which cuts workflows from weeks to days.

Next, Craig Green, CTO of Carbice, shared how his team scaled fabrication from four inches of material per month in the Georgia Tech cleanroom to producing 30 million square inches annually at their Atlanta-based factory. The IMS facilities were key to working out the kinks in the design process. 

The final speaker, Ashley Galanti, founder of AMG Detection, described her experience designing a wearable device that predicts epileptic seizures 10-45 minutes before onset. 

“I would not be able to fill this gap if it were not for the IMS facilities,” said Galanti. “You all not only provided me access to world-class equipment, but mentorship, encouragement, and a community that empowered me to grow from a student to a scientist and now a founder.”

Galanti began using the facilities with zero technical training. She was taught by IMS staff from the ground up – and still utilizes the facilities and staff expertise for guidance with her work. 

After the talks, attendees were invited to network and tour IMS’s Materials Characterization Facility and Micro/Nano Fabrication Cleanroom. 

More than a showcase, Founders Night underscored IMS’s commitment to building a community around advancing technology from matter to systems. From biotech to AI hardware to life-saving medical devices, one message resonated throughout the evening: Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation—it thrives in community.