It was a big opportunity for a small research university. In 2013, Xin Zhao, a prize-winning Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary, landed venture funding to commercialize some of the school’s patented nanotechnology. Zhao’s startup rented space nearby, hired local graduates and agreed to fund $1 million of new research at the Williamsburg, Virginia, campus.
Image: Applied Physicist Xin Zhao sits for a photograph at his home office in North Potomac, Maryland, on June 15. Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Bloomberg
