Fourier is an advanced ceramic materials and manufacturing company that provides multifunctional conformal substrates and end-use parts that can be applied to thermal management and barrier protection on the ground, in the air, and in space.
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Jason Hoffman-Bice
Jason Hoffman-Bice is the co-founder and CEO of Fourier LLC, an advanced materials manufacturing company that is focused on multifunctional substrates, encapsulants, and enclosures of electronic systems. Bice is the inventor of Fourier's foundational technology Thermoformable Ceramic materials and manufacturing process, and co-founded Fourier with his PhD advisor, Randy Erb 2022 after completing his defense. Bice completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Northeastern University, his MS in Materials Engineering at Purdue University, and his BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Florida. Prior to his academic career he served in the US Army.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
Insufficient thermal management in electronics is the cause of 55 percent of all electronic failure, and advanced materials solutions are needed for high-powered electronic systems because incumbent materials are no longer sufficient. As an example, unmanned aerial vehicles that provide communication technologies traditionally have tightly packed electronic systems that generate a large amount of heat but weight constraints prevent large heat sinks. Fourier offers a competitive dielectric material that is thermally conductive, thin, and conformable, providing a path to dissipate heat while enabling space optimization.
Technology Vision
Fourier's technology provides a low-cost manufacturing process for advanced ceramics that can be applied to the next generation of high-powered electronic systems, including industries that are size-, weight-, and power-sensitive. The company’s advanced ceramic material enables rapid compression molding of intricate ceramic parts from fully sintered preform sheets. This offers a high-resolution and high-volume manufacturing solution of ceramic materials that are low density, electrically resistant, and thermally conductive, while providing a manufacturing method capable of scale that has not existed in ceramic manufacturing until now. Implementing advanced ceramics provides a path for increased power demands in electronic systems that other materials cannot provide.
Potential for Impact
Fourier's advanced thermoformable ceramics and manufacturing process is a breakthrough technology that disrupts ceramic manufacturing. This technology has the potential to democratize ceramic component manufacturing, providing cost effective solutions that meet the requirements for the next generation of communication systems, data centers, and aerospace applications, to name a few—all requiring advanced materials for thermal management solutions that are not available on the market today. Fourier aims to provide the next generation of high-impact ceramic material solutions to advance the technologies of tomorrow.
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Fourier