Board of Directors

Mike Cable: CEO
Dr. Cable has over 25 years experience in instrumentation and detection technologies related to diagnostic and monitoring applications. He has published extensively and holds multiple patents. Prior to joining Matrix Sensors, he was Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Xenogen Corp. where he was responsible for the development and growth of the company's bioimaging product lines, Xenogen’s largest revenue source. Mike was a key member of the company’s senior management team from startup until Xenogen went public in 2004.  Mike has also served as Vice President, Bioimaging for Xradia where he applied the company's innovative, high resolution x-ray CT technology to biological applications and as Vice President, Platform Development for Nanomix, where he worked to develop the company's carbon nanotube based sensor technology into commercial products for molecular detection. Additionally, Mike has been an executive or worked with other early stage companies including Fovi Optics (non-invasive glucose detection) and  Quantum Dot Corporation (fluorescent nano-probes). He has also held positions at the University of California, Berkeley, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of Rochester. Mike has a BS in Chemistry from Iowa State University, and obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in Nuclear Chemistry/Physics.

Professor Jim Gimzewski: Founder and Consultant
Professor Jim Gimzewski is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, the Director of the CNSI Nano & Pico Characterization Lab and the Scientific Director of the Art|Sci Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining the UCLA faculty, he was a group leader at IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, where he research in nanoscale science and technology for more than 18 years. Jim pioneered research on mechanical and electrical contacts with single atoms and molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). His accomplishments include the first STM-based fabrication of molecular suprastructures at room temperature using mechanical forces to push molecules across surfaces, the discovery of single molecule rotors and the development of new micromechanical sensors based on nanotechnology, which explore ultimate limits of sensitivity and measurement. Jim’s most recent honors includes the 2009 Fellow of The Royal Society, 2009 Carnegie Centenary Professorship from the Universities of Scotland, and 2008 Dr. Honoris Causa, Université de la Méditerranée, Aix-Marseille II, presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France. His achievements include 216 publications in international journals, 389 invited talks and 17 patents.

Professor B. (Pierre) Khuri-Yakub: Founder and Consultant
Professor Khuri-Yakub is a professor at Stanford University in the Engineering department and an innovator of ultrasonic MEMS. He has developed micromachined silicon sensors and actuators such as airborne and water immersion ultrasonic transducers and arrays, medical ultrasound imaging systems, sensors in bio-fluidic channels, micromachined microphones, fluid ejectors, and chemical/biological sensors. He is also active in developing in-situ sensors (temperature, film thickness, resist cure) for process monitoring and process control of integrated circuits manufacturing processes.  Pierre’s honors include 2005 Distinguished Alumnus American University of Beirut, 2004 Outstanding Inventor Stanford University, and 1999 Distinguished Lecturer UFFC Group of IEEE.  His achievements also include over 500 publications and 80 patents to date.  He has also been founder or director of 6 technology companies. 

Professor Emeritus Calvin F. Quate: Founder and Consultant
Professor Calvin F. Quate is the Leland T. Edwards Professor at the Stanford University School of Engineering. Prof. Quate is a pioneer in the studies of nanoscale structures and the development of the associated tools. He is a co-inventor of the atomic force microscope (AFM) and in 1988 was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor for the invention and development of the scanning acoustic microscope. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah College of Engineering in 1944, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1950. Additional honors received during his illustrious career include the 1980 IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award, the President’s National Medal of Science, and the Rank Prize for Opto-Electronics.  Cal’s professional memberships include the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society of London. Prior to working with Matrix,he has served on the scientific boards of KLA-Tencor, Affymetrix and IMT.

Don Kania: President and CEO of FEI Corporation
Don is President, Chief Executive Officer and a board member of FEI, a world leader in sub-nanometer measurements systems for use in materials research, life sciences and electronics applications.  Prior to that he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Veeco Instruments Inc., where he had worked since 1998. Don has also worked at both Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory as well as at Crystallume, a manufacturer of thin film diamond coatings, where he was Research Director. Don is on the Advisory and Oversight Board of the California NanoSystems Institute.  He holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics and engineering from the University of Michigan.

Heiner Sussner: Managing Director at Miramar Ventures
Heiner joined Miramar in 2001 after 25 years working with world-class engineers and scientists at IBM Research and in venture-backed technology companies. He currently serves on the board of Azuro, AccelOps, Fastsoft and IMT. He also served on the board of Headway Technologies (acquired by TDK), Protego Networks (acquired by Cisco) and Silicon Systems (acquired by Western Digital). Before joining Miramar, Heiner was a Senior Managing Director of H&Q Asia Pacific, a private equity firm with $1.8 billion under management focusing on technology and other investing in Asia and the United States. Heiner started his professional career at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Physics in Stuttgart and joined IBM Research in San Jose, California in 1980 where he was responsible for IBM's advanced programs in storage technology.. Heiner received his Ph.D. in Physics in 1976 form the University of Konstanz, Germany. He is author of numerous scientific publications, holds several patents and was awarded the 1994 IEEE Medal for Engineering Excellence.

Bob Holmen: Managing Director at Miramar Ventures
Bob is a co-founder of Miramar Venture Partners. Bob's career experience encompasses hardware and software engineering to senior management in three technology companies. Most recently, Bob served as Vice President & General Counsel of First Consulting Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCGI), which provides information technology consulting, integration and management services to health care, pharmaceutical and other life science organizations throughout North America and Europe. Prior to FCG, Bob served as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of CoCensys, Inc., a venture-backed biopharmaceutical company that discovered and developed new drugs for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders.  Bob received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1985, serving as an officer of the national engineering honor society at Stanford. He received his J.D. from UC Berkeley in 1989. He currently serves on the Boards of the following Miramar portfolio companies: FastSoft, Matrix Sensors, and SolarFlare Communications (observer). He also served on the board of SiliconSystems which was acquired by Western Digital in March 2009.

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