Ryan Spencer, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of ThermaMatrix, has known he wanted to engineer since high school. His old truck had broken down, and instead of taking it to the auto repair shop and spending thousands of dollars he did not have as a teenager, he decided to buy the parts and fix the engine himself.
After eight weeks, I stood beside the engine with the fire extinguisher, saying, ‘If this starts and catches on fire, I’m ready for it.’ But, it worked,” laughed Spencer. “During this process, I talked to all my mentors and teachers and discovered I wanted to become an engineer. I took different paths regarding the type of engineer I became and where I am today. But I think that experience was a pinnacle moment and a great opportunity.”
This desire to solve technical, complex problems prompted Spencer to pursue a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He worked as a graduate research assistant at the Fibers & Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF) under the tutelage of UTK Professor and Governor’s Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing Uday Vaidya. After graduation, he founded his startup, ThermaMatrix, from technology created during his doctoral research.
Most Ph.D. students do their research and never touch it again. I’m lucky to explore further capabilities and opportunities,” said Spencer. “At ThermaMatrix, we provide inspection solutions for manufacturing. Our camera-based system scans and measures many properties, allowing us to perform quality control and assurance for manufacturing products. We hope to support many industries – from composites to aerospace to semiconductors and everything in between.”
While Spencer was in his graduate program, UTRF helped him understand the commercial potential of his research and encouraged him to submit an invention disclosure. After UTRF evaluated Spencer’s disclosure, UTRF’s marketing efforts led to the initiation of early-stage customer discovery conversations with several industry partners.
The UTRF team encouraged Spencer to participate in the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Mid-South Hub program where he gained his first experience in customer discovery. UTRF awarded Spencer and Vaidya a Maturation Grant to validate the commercial potential of his innovation based on industry feedback and filed patent applications.
ThermaMatrix was selected into Cohort 7 of the Innovation Crossroads program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to advance his technology. In the program’s first few months, he completed the 12-week Spark Cleantech Accelerator (CTA) business accelerator alongside his cohort and Cohort Two of Spark CTA out of UT Research Park.
I’ve been stuck in the research world for over a decade and knew nothing about business,” said Spencer. “Spark CTA was genuinely amazing for me. It helped me understand the ins and outs of running a startup and how to make it successful.
ThermaMatrix signed an option agreement with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation to develop the technology further.
Spencer marks the third time a UTRF innovator has been accepted into Innovation Crossroads. Hicham Ghossein, founder and CEO of Edeavor Composites, is an alumnus of Cohort 3 and Alex Stiles, co-founder of Vitriform3D, was in Cohort 6.
Through the dedication of faculty like Uday Vaidya and programs like Innovation Crossroads, our ecosystem is primed to support startups like ThermaMatrix,” said Kusum Rathore, Vice President of the UTRF Multi Campus Office. “UTRF is an essential piece of the entrepreneurial support system. We are proud to support Ryan Spencer and his company.”
During his doctoral studies, Spencer fell in love with his work and the community, especially its collaborative spirit and ongoing support of startups and entrepreneurs.
The city is amping up this entrepreneurial support system – it’s fascinating to be part of it. I think the city’s starting to bear the fruit of almost a decade of hard work, support, and development,” said Spencer. “I’m looking forward to what the next ten years will show. ThermaMatrix will be a part of that. We plan to stay in Knoxville.”
Spencer is currently focused on advancing his technology toward commercialization and growing his team.
We’re still a very new company. I’m a solo founder surrounded by mentors and individuals who help and guide me,” said Spencer. “I am looking for people to join the team and our effort to provide cost-effective, non-destructive solutions for manufacturers.”