Dr. Stephen Furst is a Mechanical Engineer specialized in precision engineering, nanomanufacturing, and smart materials research. Stephen founded Smart Material Solutions in 2016 to commercialize Nanocoining: a technology that enables fabrication of large-area nanopatterns via roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography, and he currently serves as the company’s CEO. Stephen previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Precision Engineering and the society’s Precision Manufacturing chair.
Stephen completed his BS in Aerospace Engineering at NC State in 2007, then his MS in Mechanical Engineering in 2009 under the direction of Dr. Thomas Dow at the NC State Precision Engineering Center (PEC), the lab where the Nanocoining technology was later invented. Stephen began his PhD work in 2009 with Prof. Dr. -Ing. Stefan Seelecke at NC State with emphasis on smart materials research before finishing his research and graduating from Saarland University (Saarbruecken, Germany) in 2012.