Meet the Team: Matthew Hull

The National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth) continues the Meet the Team Series with Virginia Tech Research Professor and the Director of the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL), Matthew Hull, Ph.D. 

Hull obtained a Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Science at Ferrum College (2000) and a Master’s of Science in Biology at Virginia Tech (2002). With support and encouragement from Ferrum professor, David Johnson, Ph.D., Hull landed a spot in Don Cherry, Ph.D.’s ecotoxicology lab, studying the impacts of coal-fired power generation on endangered freshwater mussels of Appalachia. This work led him to a Blacksburg technology firm where he developed a program to explore the applications and implications of nanotechnology in the environment. He leveraged this experience to start NanoSafe, Inc., a company focused on mitigating risks of nanotechnology to humans and the environment, which was acquired in 2023 by ITA International, LLC (Newport News, VA). At the same time, he headed back to Virginia Tech as an NSF IGERT Fellow for a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with Peter Vikesland, Ph.D. and Nancy Love, Ph.D. 

After defending his Ph.D. in 2011, Hull took a position with Virginia Tech’s Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) managing ICTAS’ nano and nano-bio-related investments before transitioning into the NCFL director role in 2022. In 2014 he created the Nanotechnology Entrepreneurship Challenge (NTEC), which provides seed funds and mentorship to help students and postdoctoral scholars translate nano-enabled innovations to society. Hull now leads the NTEC program on a national scale as Associate Director for Innovation and Entrepreneurship with the NSF-funded National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). He also serves in this role with NanoEarth, Virginia Tech’s NNCI site, and credits his long-time collaborator and NanoEarth Assistant Director, Tonya Pruitt, with the success scaling NTEC. 

NTEC gives Hull an opportunity to work with students and postdoctoral scholars interested in translating their work from the lab to society. His favorite part of NanoEarth and the NNCI is watching these individuals solve global challenges with nanotechnology. They are brilliant, eager, enthused and bring exciting ideas to society.

Hull enjoys traveling, taking long walks and spending time with his family, Sherry, Evan, and Olivia. Evan and Olivia both attend Virginia Tech. He would like young researchers to “listen to your inner curiosities and don’t be afraid to explore them”. He implores students to always ask questions and bring their own perspectives to labs and research. He states, “YOU and your unique way of thinking are critical to the process. Don’t dismiss that. Embrace it.”