Van N. Truskett

Dr. Van N. Truskett has a track record of innovation, leadership, and attainment of business results in nanoimprint lithography addressing its introduction and use in the semiconductor, hard disk drive, and emerging market (bio, solar, LED, display) applications. She has over 14 years of technical, operations, and strategic leadership experience related to semiconductor equipment manufacturing and inkjet printhead R&D and product release. Her work has taken jetting technology from scholarship to practice in the US and Asia, enabling a novel path for lower production costs for the semiconductor industry.

Dr. Truskett played a critical role in a team that raised $150M in venture capital and developed a startup, Molecular Imprints, into a successful enterprise that was acquired by Canon in 2014 to form Canon Nanotechnologies. Her accomplishments included the development of dramatically higher resolution nanopatterning solutions at a lower cost of ownership compared to competitors. She was instrumental in the product release of over 10 nanoimprint lithography products and over 6 cutting edge inkjet printing products. She has 71 patents (15 US and 56 international) constituting the core technology. Currently, Dr. Truskett’s inkjet systems are the most advanced in the world and are the only ones used in the lithography industry.

Dr. Truskett is a nationally recognized technology and business leader. She is the recipient of the 2014 Industrial Research & Development Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. A nationally recognized chemical engineering award for innovation, creativity, and impact of bringing new product to market. In 2016, she was awarded The Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Technology Innovation from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas and the Distinguished Engineering Graduate (DEG) from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. The O’Donnell Award is the most prestigious state award recognizing Texas base researchers for their pioneering work. The DEG award is the highest honor from the Cockrell School given to highly respected professionals, dedicated engineers, and supporters of higher education. In 2017, Dr. Truskett is the recipient of the Academy of Distinguished Chemical Engineers from the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Truskett served as Director of Jetting Technology for Canon Nanotechnologies. Her groundbreaking developments, scientific contributions, and leadership of core technologies in semiconductor equipment manufacturing and inkjet printhead innovation was seminal to the company’s acquisition. Currently, Dr. Truskett is the Director of Technology Innovation at The University of Texas at Austin in the Office of Technology Commercialization. She brings her expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship to foster and enable the commercialization of university-based discoveries and young startup companies to succeed.

Dr. Truskett received her Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University and B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin, both degrees in chemical engineering.