About Academic Fab
Academic Fab is a trusted scientific device fabrication service provider dedicated to transforming innovative concepts into production-ready devices. With state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities and decades of combined expertise, we serve researchers, startups, and enterprises worldwide.
Founder Story
Dr. Zeiss Wang founded Academic Fab with a vision to accelerate scientific innovation through rapid prototyping and expert problem-solving. With more than 20 years of experience in device fabrication, he recognized that device developers need experts who can quickly solve technical challenges, provide manufacturing services, and deliver comprehensive solutions for reliable production.
During his graduate research on a nanochannel drug delivery device involving intricate nanoscale fabrication, Dr. Wang faced severe limitations in available tools and services. Each design iteration took months instead of days, significantly restricting his research progress and highlighting a critical gap in the scientific manufacturing ecosystem.
Academic Fab ensures this challenge doesn't limit your work. We leverage cutting-edge tools and research expertise to bring your designs to life with the highest probability of success. Serving researchers, startups, and enterprises, we combine deep domain knowledge with engineering ingenuity—and we excel at addressing non-standard manufacturing needs.
Dr. Wang brings expertise in both technology and business development. He previously worked with Magic Leap on its first-generation augmented reality device and developed a breakthrough technology that reduces drug delivery particle manufacturing costs and time by a thousandfold. He has secured multiple SBIR grants and raised millions of dollars in funding for startup ventures.
Dr. Wang earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Our Team
A multidisciplinary team of engineers and scientists with deep expertise across MEMS, microfluidics, and advanced fabrication.
Dr. Marcus Chen
Principal Process Engineer
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering
Dr. Chen is an electrical engineer with over 15 years of hands-on experience in MEMS process integration, microfluidic bio-chip design, and RF-MEMS device development. His expertise spans the full fabrication lifecycle — from conceptual design and process flow development to tool qualification, device characterization, and customer delivery.
Prior to joining Academic Fab, Dr. Chen led process integration for multi-project wafer programs at a leading MEMS foundry, and served as Head of Engineering at a biotech startup where he directed projects in high-frequency impedance tomography, dielectrophoretic cell sorting, and automated gene-editing platforms. Earlier in his career, he was a senior development engineer at a university nanofabrication center, where he owned 16 process tools, trained lab members, and served as technical liaison for external research collaborators.
Areas of Expertise
Career Highlights
- •Led SOI, piezoelectric, and polysilicon multi-project wafer programs at a MEMS foundry
- •Directed engineering teams on electronic liquid biopsy and automated cell-sorting platforms
- •Designed and characterized RF-MEMS switches, varactors, and evanescent-mode cavity filters
- •Contributed to government and industry R&D programs including DARPA and DOE initiatives
- •Developed and taught annual CMOS/MEMS fabrication laboratory course at a research university
Dr. Arjun Mehta
Senior Process Scientist
Ph.D. Materials Science & Engineering
Dr. Mehta is a materials scientist and process engineer with over a decade of experience in thin-film deposition, semiconductor lithography, and advanced etch process development. He joined Academic Fab to help clients translate complex material requirements into reliable, repeatable fabrication workflows — from initial process design through to yield-optimized production runs.
Before Academic Fab, Dr. Mehta spent six years in process development roles at semiconductor equipment and specialty materials companies, where he focused on dielectric and metal thin-film stacks for next-generation logic and memory devices. He holds a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering and completed postdoctoral work on atomic layer deposition and surface functionalization for biosensor applications.
Areas of Expertise
Career Highlights
- •Developed low-temperature ALD oxide processes enabling flexible substrate compatibility for wearable biosensors
- •Led etch process qualification for sub-20 nm patterning on high-aspect-ratio MEMS structures
- •Designed multi-layer metal interconnect stacks for piezoelectric MEMS actuator platforms
- •Collaborated with academic and industry partners on NIH- and DOE-funded fabrication programs
- •Mentored graduate students and junior engineers in cleanroom safety and process methodology