Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1098973
48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2019 my peers tended more toward the software path, which can seem to be more glamorous at this stage, but I think hardware is a cool place to be. I like having a tangible product that I can see, work with, and develop through to completion. I would say don't "dis" hardware because it can also be exciting. Matties: Indeed. When you looked at your career, what or who influenced you the most? Diament: I've had a series of mentors, and the most influential has been this professor who helped co-found Instrumems and served as my advisor for my senior thesis. He taught me a lot of lessons about fluid mechanics but also larger life lessons about how to work hard but still enjoy things. Another major reason I took this job was that it was on the West Coast and I am a big surfer. I've been dying to get to the Santa Cruz waves my whole life, so this has been a great avenue to do that as well. Matties: Is there anything that we haven't talked about that you'd like to share with the industry? Diament: I think getting our message out there that this nanowire technology is a huge plat- form, and we see it as analogous to how piezo materials came onto the market a few decades ago. At first, piezo materials were simply substances that stretched and compressed; now, they are used as a whole range of sensors and can infer a whole breadth of measure- ment quantities, and that's how we see our nanowire technology. It started with measur- ing air velocity, and we realized it could do temperature, humidity, and liquid flows. We anticipate uncovering a bunch of other appli- cations during the later stages of our develop- ment process. Matties: As the manufacturing environment changes around the world to smart factories and Industry 4.0, sensors become the founda- tion. Without sensors, you don't have the data. With your sensor, I would think that there are opportunities everywhere you look for tech- I was curious about your career path and why you're here. Diament: I see Instrumems as a way to access a whole range of different technologies. What makes being at a sensor company exciting is that I can get my hands in a bunch of different exciting fields. Matties: You're not being limited to old people (laughs). Diament: (Laughing) I didn't say that but… Matties: You can go where they are smoking vapes. Diament: (Laughing) Nah, that definitely isn't where I like to go. Matties: Well, this is great that you're out doing this. What advice would you give to other young people in the industry? Diament: I'd say Instrumems is an exciting place to work in terms of hardware. A lot of Close-up detail of the nanowire in the Instrumems sensor.