On this episode, Bryan Hassin, CEO of DexMat joins the show to discuss Galvorn - a next-generation conductive material designed for high-performance, weight-constrained applications across aerospace, defense, automotive, and data infrastructure.

Their latest funding marks a transition point for the company, from deep materials R&D into production scale and customer qualification. Bryan has spent his career working at the intersection of lab innovation and manufacturing reality.

You can learn more about Galvorn at https://dexmat.com/why-galvorn.

Self-healing composites have been talked about for years, but sometimes a piece of research comes along that looks meaningfully different. This week, Andrew Tomaswick, a science journalist, joins the show to discuss his recent article, "The Composite That Heals Itself 1,000 Times."

It highlights a self-healing composite material developed by researchers at North Carolina State University that can repair damage repeatedly, over 1,000 cycles. It incorporates a 3D-printed thermoplastic healing agent with embedded carbon-based heaters that, when heated, melt the agent into cracks and restore the composite's structural integrity. It's a process that proved effective over many intentional break-and-repair tests.

Andy is a writer at Universe Today and has been interested in space exploration ever since reading Pale Blue Dot in middle school. An engineer by training, he likes to focus on the practical challenges of space exploration, whether that's getting rid of Perchlorates on Mars or making ultra-smooth mirrors to capture ever clearer data.

On this episode, Nancy Hairston, CEO of MedCAD joins the show to discuss their innovative approach to the design and production of patient-matched medical devices using 3D printing. They've recently produced 3D-printed implants for wounded Ukrainian soldiers, an application where speed and accuracy can be life-changing.

Their approach is 100% patient-customized, with every implant and every procedure planned and manufactured in-house in cooperation with a patient's attending surgical team.

You can learn more about their company at https://www.medcad.com.

On this episode, Marty Johnson, VP of Product and Technical Fellow at 3D Systems, joins the show to take a clear-eyed look at additive manufacturing materials—what they can do, what they can't, and what engineers should realistically expect when composites and filled materials enter the 3D-printing conversation.

Marty brings a mechanical engineering first perspective to additive manufacturing—cutting through marketing claims to focus on real data, long-term performance, and where printed composite materials truly make sense in aerospace, automotive, tooling, and beyond.

As a company, 3D Systems delivers industry-leading 3D printing technologies, materials and software to high-value markets such as medical and dental, aerospace, space & defense, transportation & motorsports, AI infrastructure, and durable goods.

You can learn more about them by visiting https://www.3dsystems.com.

On this episode, we're joined by Kjirstin Breure, President and CEO of HydroGraph—a company that may finally be turning graphene from a promise into a product.

For more than a decade, graphene has been called a wonder material, but most producers struggled with impurities, inconsistency, and the inability to scale. HydroGraph has taken a different path—developing a proprietary explosion-synthesis process that delivers pure, identical batches of fractal graphene at industrial scale.

In just the past year, HydroGraph has moved from lab-driven R&D to real commercial momentum, with dozens of active customer projects across composites, aerospace, medical devices, coatings, and energy storage. With aggressive U.S. expansion underway, growing engagement with federal and defense agencies, and discussions around deeper capital market integration, the company is hitting a rare inflection point. You can learn more by visiting their website at https://hydrograph.com.

On this episode Thomas Lepretre joins the show to talk about JEC World 2026. Thomas is Vice President of Events, Sales & Operations at JEC Group. We'll be discussing what's in store for this year's big show in Paris, March 10-12.

JEC World's mission is to promote composite materials globally by connecting innovation, business, and applications across all major industries.

You can learn more about this year's event by visiting https://www.jec-world.events.

On this episode, Daniel Murphy, founder of Alcove Media, joins the podcast. His company helps companies turn trade shows from expensive branding exercises into measurable revenue engines. Daniel works closely with technology companies that invest heavily in expos but struggle to connect booth traffic to real sales outcomes.

In this conversation, we break down why most trade shows fail to deliver ROI, how a lack of strategy quietly bleeds marketing budgets, and what it takes to generate qualified leads, engagement, and follow-through that converts.

If your company spends serious money on trade shows, and expects more than vague "exposure," this episode is one you'll want to take notes on.

You can learn more by visiting https://tradeshowsecrets.com.

On this episode, Dr. Michael Murdoch joins the podcast to discuss how visual cues can act as diagnostics for material performance, and how engineers can preview color, gloss, translucency, surface texture, and material mixtures long before a physical prototype exists. He is the head of the Integrated Sciences Academy at the Munsell Color Science Lab at Rochester Institute of Technology. His work focuses on how material appearance—things like color, gloss, translucency, and surface texture—can be digitally simulated, measured, and used as meaningful data long before a physical part ever exists.

With an early career as a chemical engineer at Eastman Kodak, working hands-on with thermoplastics and injection-molded components, Dr. Murdoch brings a rare blend of manufacturing experience and advanced research insight.

The Munsell Color Science Laboratory and the Program of Color Science unite to form one of the world's foremost color science research and education organizations. Their mission is to provide world-class education, research, and outreach in all areas of color science. You can learn more at https://www.rit.edu/science/munsell-color-lab.

On this episode, Ryan Condron joins the podcast to discuss his vision for moving cargo containers across vast distances with zero emissions. Ryan is the CEO of Float, a company working to build the next generation of aerial freight systems—fusing hydrogen-powered carbon fiber blimps with quadcopter agility to move cargo containers across vast distances with zero emissions.

You can learn more at https://floatair.com.

On this episode, Dr Robert Brüll, founder and CEO of FibreCoat joins the show to discuss their strategic partnership with Lofith Composites to develop next-generation thermoplastic composites for space.

This partnership joins FibreCoat's expertise in fibre coatings with Lofith's thermoplastic tape and composite manufacturing. Together, the companies will integrate FibreCoat's coated fibres into Lofith's recyclable, high-performance composites to produce lightweight structural materials designed to meet the extreme demands of space.

The first orbital demonstration of the joint material is planned for 2026, when a satellite will carry test panels into orbit for 12 months.