Meet The Innovator - David Niedzwiecki, Sr. Scientist Goeppert
Pennovation Works is home to an exciting mix of startups, research initiatives, and innovative companies. In this Meet the Innovator series, we will be introducing you to a member of the Pennovation Works community through a Q&A spotlight.
This spotlight is with David Niedzwiecki, Senior Scientist, Goeppert. Goeppert develops and manufactures a broad range of products that enable, facilitate, and accelerate global academic and industrial research and technology.
What is your current position at Goeppert and how long have you been with the company?
Senior Scientist. I am the principal investigator for Goeppert’s SBIR grants from NASA and the NIH. I have been at Goeppert since its founding in 2017.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I like to write in the early morning, build things at the Singh Center for Nanotechnology until about noon, then either measure or analyze data in the afternoon. In practice, I work my schedule around when tools are available at the Singh Center, which means I sometimes work late into the night.
What motivates you to do what you do? What keeps you going?
Curiosity is my most consistent motivator, but to keep going I use whatever I can: ambition, social pressure, coffee…
What comes next for Goeppert?
Goeppert continues to apply our nanopore technology to a wide variety of sensing applications, and we are currently pursuing SBIR grants with the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and National Institutes of Health. My main goal at Goeppert is to make working nanopore-based DNA sequencers.
What’s a piece of advice you got that stayed with you?
You need Knowledge, Resources, and Time to succeed. You can use knowledge to gain resources. You can use your resources to hire knowledge. You can spend your time gaining both knowledge and resources. But you never get more time, so use it wisely.
What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
Since COVID started I’ve been playing a lot more piano.
Lightning Round:
Favorite food: Fettuccine Carbonara
What did you want to be when you grew up? Race-car driver
If you were a superhero, what powers would you have? The ability control time
Place you would want to travel to the most? Bhutan
