Producer of the Week: jbrenner
Jbrenner shares some high-tech passion projects as well as how he can relate to many of the characters in Atlas Shrugged.
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QUICK FACTS
*Favorite Ayn Rand book:
Atlas Shrugged. I have more comparisons to what has transpired since the middle of 2008 when I first read the book than I can count. I identify with many of the characters. Like Rearden, I am a materials engineer. I could show Reardon and d’Anconia a few things about how to purify metals. I have been on many sides of the energy equation and thus can relate to several characters like Galt, Danagger, and Wyatt. I have a bit of a personality disorder in that I enjoy keeping things running despite all sorts of setbacks like Dagny. When I was younger, I had a few Wet Nurse moments. I worked in a government lab for a while before reading AS and could see the temptation for a Robert Stadler.
*Favorite Ayn Rand character:
Francisco d’Anconia, especially for the money speech. Francisco was gifted at illustrating the hypocrisy of those around him.
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Q & A
*When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
I read “We the Living” while in high school because I had to do so. I wrote an essay showing the absurdity of Communism as exemplified by the book, only to find out that my teacher was a Communist. She gave me a C on the essay to give me a B for the course and cost me being valedictorian.
*How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
Later in this thread, you will read about a company I helped start in which one of my partners invented something akin to Mr. Fusion from the Back to the Future movies. I was one of the last in our small business to read “Atlas Shrugged” in 2008. When Barack Obama got elected and it was obvious that he was favoring solar instead of the biofuels we were selling, we sold our company and shrugged. I don’t think I would have shrugged had I not just read “Atlas Shrugged”.
*What passion projects are you working on right now?
Prof. Kurt Winkelmann and I are co-authoring the first lab manual on a nanotechnology laboratory that encompasses both synthesis and characterization.
My current research projects involve 3D printing of poly(lactic acid) fibers as inexpensive tissue scaffolding. In several years I plan to make tissue engineering affordable by embedding growth and differentiation factors into such fibers, thereby allowing one of my colleagues at Florida Tech to morph induced pluripotent stem cells grown on the poly(lactic acid) fibers into fully developed, ready-to-implant tissue. This will make some money, but the next project is the one for which I will make a mint.
Just today I bought a 40 watt engraving laser from which I will build a 3D printer of metals and ceramics via laser sintering. Right now 3D printing of metals and ceramics AND 3D bioprinting equipment is overpriced to the point where that industry is similar to the computer business in about 1982. In the last couple of years many people have developed 3D printers for home use, but the laser power required to do 3D printing of metals and ceramics will greatly limit the number of companies that want to compete with me. Fortunately I have a student working for me who could be the next John Galt.
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ON THE WEB
I need to update my web site quite a bit, but it's: http://my.fit.edu/~jbrenner
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1ocHjmV
Gulch Profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/jbrenner...
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K’s Q & A
*What are you wearing to the Atlas Shrugged III premiere?
I just bought an Atlas Shrugged: Now, Non-Fiction T-shirt (http://store.atlasshruggedmovie.com/offi...).
*What is the one phrase Ayn Rand wrote that stopped you in your tracks?
I would not take it upon my conscience that anything produced by my mind should be used to bring them comfort. - Quentin Daniels
*If you could be the tycoon of an industry, which industry would you pick?
I want to dominate the business of 3D printing of metals and ceramics by making such rapid prototyping printers in the $2000-5000 range instead of in the $200,000-$1,000,000 range.
*What do you pack in a sack lunch?
I don't pack a sack lunch. I either go to my university's dining hall or out to eat.
*Favorite current song?
We Are the Champions is my favorite song because I have no time for losers.
As I write this, my wife is listening to Fool on a Hill by The Beatles. That is a perfect description for people who have blanked out. Taxman by The Beatles describes how I feel about government. When I was in high school, I was the lead singer for a 60's-70's-early 80's rock and roll band, but I couldn't turn it into a day job. I have a fairly broad range of music that I like, but I do not like anything since about 1987.
*Pretzels or chips?
Chips
*Crab or shrimp?
Shrimp
- - - - -
Read how you can be featured in Galt’s Gulch as a Producer of the Week: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/51...
- - - - -
QUICK FACTS
*Favorite Ayn Rand book:
Atlas Shrugged. I have more comparisons to what has transpired since the middle of 2008 when I first read the book than I can count. I identify with many of the characters. Like Rearden, I am a materials engineer. I could show Reardon and d’Anconia a few things about how to purify metals. I have been on many sides of the energy equation and thus can relate to several characters like Galt, Danagger, and Wyatt. I have a bit of a personality disorder in that I enjoy keeping things running despite all sorts of setbacks like Dagny. When I was younger, I had a few Wet Nurse moments. I worked in a government lab for a while before reading AS and could see the temptation for a Robert Stadler.
*Favorite Ayn Rand character:
Francisco d’Anconia, especially for the money speech. Francisco was gifted at illustrating the hypocrisy of those around him.
- - - - -
Q & A
*When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
I read “We the Living” while in high school because I had to do so. I wrote an essay showing the absurdity of Communism as exemplified by the book, only to find out that my teacher was a Communist. She gave me a C on the essay to give me a B for the course and cost me being valedictorian.
*How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
Later in this thread, you will read about a company I helped start in which one of my partners invented something akin to Mr. Fusion from the Back to the Future movies. I was one of the last in our small business to read “Atlas Shrugged” in 2008. When Barack Obama got elected and it was obvious that he was favoring solar instead of the biofuels we were selling, we sold our company and shrugged. I don’t think I would have shrugged had I not just read “Atlas Shrugged”.
*What passion projects are you working on right now?
Prof. Kurt Winkelmann and I are co-authoring the first lab manual on a nanotechnology laboratory that encompasses both synthesis and characterization.
My current research projects involve 3D printing of poly(lactic acid) fibers as inexpensive tissue scaffolding. In several years I plan to make tissue engineering affordable by embedding growth and differentiation factors into such fibers, thereby allowing one of my colleagues at Florida Tech to morph induced pluripotent stem cells grown on the poly(lactic acid) fibers into fully developed, ready-to-implant tissue. This will make some money, but the next project is the one for which I will make a mint.
Just today I bought a 40 watt engraving laser from which I will build a 3D printer of metals and ceramics via laser sintering. Right now 3D printing of metals and ceramics AND 3D bioprinting equipment is overpriced to the point where that industry is similar to the computer business in about 1982. In the last couple of years many people have developed 3D printers for home use, but the laser power required to do 3D printing of metals and ceramics will greatly limit the number of companies that want to compete with me. Fortunately I have a student working for me who could be the next John Galt.
- - - - -
ON THE WEB
I need to update my web site quite a bit, but it's: http://my.fit.edu/~jbrenner
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1ocHjmV
Gulch Profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/jbrenner...
- - - - -
K’s Q & A
*What are you wearing to the Atlas Shrugged III premiere?
I just bought an Atlas Shrugged: Now, Non-Fiction T-shirt (http://store.atlasshruggedmovie.com/offi...).
*What is the one phrase Ayn Rand wrote that stopped you in your tracks?
I would not take it upon my conscience that anything produced by my mind should be used to bring them comfort. - Quentin Daniels
*If you could be the tycoon of an industry, which industry would you pick?
I want to dominate the business of 3D printing of metals and ceramics by making such rapid prototyping printers in the $2000-5000 range instead of in the $200,000-$1,000,000 range.
*What do you pack in a sack lunch?
I don't pack a sack lunch. I either go to my university's dining hall or out to eat.
*Favorite current song?
We Are the Champions is my favorite song because I have no time for losers.
As I write this, my wife is listening to Fool on a Hill by The Beatles. That is a perfect description for people who have blanked out. Taxman by The Beatles describes how I feel about government. When I was in high school, I was the lead singer for a 60's-70's-early 80's rock and roll band, but I couldn't turn it into a day job. I have a fairly broad range of music that I like, but I do not like anything since about 1987.
*Pretzels or chips?
Chips
*Crab or shrimp?
Shrimp
- - - - -
Read how you can be featured in Galt’s Gulch as a Producer of the Week: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/51...
Previous comments... You are currently on page 4.
Recently WinterWind and I had a debate in a different thread about whether or not everyone should hear the merits of Objectivism. We agreed that it is our responsibility to tell others about Objectivism, but it is not our responsibility to "make them agree with Objectivism". We can sow and water, but we can't make them grow into Objectivists. They have to do it for themselves. If they choose to ignore the merits of Objectivism, I have no further time for such losers.
I also had to edit down a section about a small business to make biosensors. I was asked to be VP for sensor development and one of the early partners. We made an alternate to the EPT pregnancy test kit and were going to mass produce at $1-2 per kit vs. $15 for EPT. EPT heard about us and bought us out. I wasn't all that upset because our company's president was starting to promise things that we expected to be able to deliver in several months, but hadn't proven yet.
The toughest part of AS for me to accept originally was the idea that governments should not fund science. I was disabused of that notion a few short years later in grad school.
K
You have earned it. It's been enjoyable to engage here with you. To your continued success in your endeavors.
NMA
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