Jeff Schultz's Biography

Jeff Schultz, Co-Founder, Phase, Inc.

Jeff Schultz, co-founder of Phase, has more than 20 years’ experience developing novel 3D printing techniques for a wide range of applications. Now, with the support of 3 NIH grants, Schultz is focusing on developing a novel way to 3D print microfluidics to make organ-on-a-chip models more commercially applicable and accessible. He earned his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in materials engineering from Virginia Tech, where his research focused on understanding the ranges of physical, rheologic and thermodynamic properties that made a polymer suitable for selective laser sintering additive manufacturing. Schultz then became a principal partner in a start-up 3D-printing company which developed metal additive manufacturing technology and aerodynamics instrumentation. There, he led technology development and was the first inventor on all the key patents related to its additive friction stir technology. After exiting the company, Schultz earned his MBA from MIT and then built the US additive manufacturing business unit for Oerlikon Corporation, a Swiss industrial conglomerate. The facility he grew and led at Oerlikon was among the largest additive manufacturing component production facilities globally. After a successful scale-up at Oerlikon, Schultz returned to entrepreneurship and co-founded Phase, his second startup focused on developing additive manufacturing technology. The company has received support from the NIH, NC Biotech, and the State of North Carolina, and has 5 patents in various stages related to its novel 3D printing and VivorrayTM technology.