A calculated risk
For neutron scientist Peter Böni, founding a company felt like a huge gamble – until a chance meeting persuaded him to take the plunge
Thank you for registering with Physics World
If you'd like to change your details at any time, please visit My account
I'm an online editor at Physics World. I write about applied physics research, and generally "fly the flag" for the practical and commercial side of physics within the Physics World team. I joined Physics World in 2008, shortly after completing my PhD in experimental atomic physics at Durham University, but I’m not from these parts originally: I grew up in Kansas and did my undergraduate degree in the US. Aside from industry physics, I'm interested in science policy and every now and then I get nostalgic about soldering circuits and fiddling around with lasers. Outside work I enjoy hiking, reading about history and becoming less incompetent at karate.
For neutron scientist Peter Böni, founding a company felt like a huge gamble – until a chance meeting persuaded him to take the plunge
Zenotech CEO David Standingford describes how the rise of cloud computing has created opportunities, both for his business and for the wider fluid-dynamics community
Tech-X co-founders John Cary and Svetlana Shasharina reflect on how the firm developed its specialism
Executives from Airbus, Bell Labs, IBM, ID Quantique and venture-capital firm Elaia Partners share their views on basic research
Miniature satellites called CubeSats are opening up the space industry to new customers and mission types, as Margaret Harris reports
Endomagnetics co-founder Simon Hattersley on starting a company that makes magnetic nanoparticle systems for detecting cancer
As innovations in 3D bioprinting begin to impact the commercial and clinical worlds, Margaret Harris explains how these advances could prove significant
Cather Simpson tells the "start-up story" of Engender, which uses photonics technology to sort bull sperm by sex for the dairy industry
Peter Leibinger, chief technology officer at the industrial laser and machine-tool firm TRUMPF, discusses progress in additive manufacturing
The vergence-accommodation conflict is one of the thorniest problems in virtual reality optics. Margaret Harris assesses strategies for tackling it