Dimitri Mata

Applying the lean startup technique to find a problem that a solution developed at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering could solve bringing the most value to the end customer. Researching detecting sugars in the mashing and distilling process.

I am pursuing a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering, and I am also pursuing an MBA with a focus on Technology Entrepreneurship. The Nuclear Engineering curriculum exposes me to the engineering problem analysis techniques required of all engineers while providing me with the additional skills required to model and interpret data from the required simulations to understand nuclear interactions. The MBA curriculum is building on my analytic skills acquired in my Engineering curriculum and my past experiences by placing me in positions to perform the tasks and make decisions required at some time by business professionals. The classes include: Design, Manufacturing, and Marketing; a class, or better, an experience, where I worked with a team of four other MBA candidates in developing a new product to solve a problem for an existing company. Our tasks included performing market research, ideation, concept testing, developing manufacturing and financing plans, and developing a marketing strategy. The class included learning the stage-gate plan and proceeding through the first three gates of the plan. Managing on the Edge; a residency program in Washington, DC where I was on a team with two other MBA candidates with the task of developing an innovation initiative to pitch to a congressman's staff member.