About
Co-Founders and Owners
CEO
William E. ( Bill) Trent
A seasoned entrepreneurial CEO, William Trent brings a rare combination of operational discipline, market intuition, and relentless curiosity to every venture he leads.
With a career built on identifying overlooked opportunities and transforming them into scalable businesses, he has consistently operated at the intersection of innovation and execution.
Throughout his career, he has developed deep expertise in industrial solutions, product development, and go to market strategy, with a particular focus on creating practical, high impact innovations that solve real world problems.
An alumni of North Carolina State University, Polymer chemistry ’81, Harvard University, management programs, and is a member of the American Chemical Society, and The American Oil Chemists Society.
He is Vice Chairman of the NCSU College of Sciences Foundation board of directors, and a member of the Board of directors of the NC State Investment fund, managing over 2.5 billion dollars in funds.
COO and Secretary
David Muddiman, Ph.D.
David C. Muddiman is co-founder of iMass Innovations, Inc., serving as Chief Operational Officer and Secretary. He has been working in the field of mass spectrometry imaging for over 15 years, as both scientist and software development manager. Having published hundreds of peer-reviewed papers in the field, David is a highly respected professional in the MSI field. David is the inventor of IR-MALDESI.
David is currently the Associate Head of Chemistry and the Jacob and Betty Belin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at North Carolina State University, where he manages a large research lab. David and his research team have developed and evolved IR-MALDESI for over a decade, incorporating numerous features and functions as well as demonstrating its complimentary to other MSI approaches. Moreover, high impact studies have been achieved.
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-muddiman-96887813/
CTO and Secretary
Gracious Ngaile, Ph.D.
Gracious Ngaile is the co-founder of iMass Innovations, Inc., where he serves as the Chief Technology Officer and Secretary. With 25 years of experience, Gracious has conducted research in design and manufacturing, focusing on manufacturing process design and optimization, precision engineering, tribology, and cyber-physical systems. He has published extensively in the fields of manufacturing, tribology, instrumentation, and computational modeling and simulation.
Currently, Gracious is the Director of the Precision Engineering Consortium at North Carolina State University (NC State). He also leads the Advanced Metal-forming and Tribology Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the university.
CFO
Meredith Muddiman
Meredith C. Muddiman is co-founder of iMass Innovations, and its Chief Financial Officer. Serving in various leadership roles over the past 20 years, she has years of professional experience in Analytical Chemistry (pharmaceutical R&D), Sales and Marketing, Technical Support, Web Development and Entrepreneurship. Meredith has significant experience in starting up companies, managing finances, and ensuring compliance with federal and state laws.
CBSO
AMIT SAWANT, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Amit Sawant is a commercialization strategist and product executive with 15+ years of experience turning advanced technologies into market‑ready solutions. He leads go‑to‑market strategy, IP positioning, and business formation for MedTech and deep‑tech innovations across North Carolina’s research ecosystem.
As Chief Business & Strategy Officer at iMass Innovations, Amit drives commercialization for IR‑MALDESI and related precision‑engineering technologies, guiding market validation, customer discovery, competitive positioning, and partnership development to prepare the company for investment and scale.
Previously, Amit served as Chief Product & Operating Officer at Somatix, launching AI‑powered remote patient monitoring platforms and securing partnerships with Roche and T‑Mobile. He has held leadership roles at Dell, NetApp, and Riverbed, driving multi‑million‑dollar product launches and data‑platform transformations. Amit holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from NC State University and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School. He serves on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Executive Roundtable Forum and ProductCampRTP, and advises startups through NSF I‑Corps, CED, IIT Startups, and NCInnovation.
LinkedIn – https://www.
Scientific Advisory Board
Daniel DeBord, Ph.D.
CTO, MOBILion Systems
Dr. Daniel DeBord is a scientist-engineer and technology executive with deep expertise in analytical instrumentation, mass spectrometry, and ion mobility technologies. He earned his PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Texas A&M University and has built a career spanning academic research, industrial analytical science, and leadership roles in advanced instrumentation companies. Throughout his career, he has led the development and commercialization of next-generation analytical technologies, including portable mass spectrometry systems and SLIM-based ion mobility platforms for a range of application areas. Currently serving as Chief Technology Officer at MOBILion Systems, Dr. DeBord oversees technology strategy, innovation, and intellectual property development while helping drive breakthroughs in life sciences and analytical chemistry. He is also a recognized scientific leader, inventor, and mentor, with numerous publications, patents, conference presentations, and was identified as one of The Analytical Scientist’s Top 40 Under 40.
JACOB GUYMON, PH.D., M.B.A
Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer
Jacob is an expert in precision design and rapid manufacturing with 14 years of industry experience. He works as a Senior Opto-Mechanical Engineer developing state of the art metrology capital equipment in the semiconductor industry. He leverages AI and automation to multiply time and improve efficiency. Jacob is a doer. He is a maker, a learner and a problem solver.
Jacob earned a Ph.D. in precision engineering, a subset of mechanical engineering focussed on metrology, manufacturing and motion control. Jacob also holds a master’s degree in business administration and has a real entrepreneurial spirit.
Venkat Panchagnula, PH.D., M.Sc.
CEO, MassTech Inc.
Venkat Panchagnula leads MassTech Inc. as CEO, driving innovation in mass spectrometry from the company’s headquarters in Columbia, Maryland. Under his leadership, MassTech has advanced two flagship platforms: a cutting‑edge atmospheric‑pressure MALDI source that is transforming imaging workflows, and a compact ion trap mass spectrometer designed for high‑performance analysis in a small footprint.
Before joining MassTech, Venkat served as a Principal Scientist and Associate Professor at the CSIR–National Chemical Laboratory in India. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and his M.Sc. from the University of Hyderabad.