Despite Australian industries being relatively siloed, there is real value in taking knowledge and technology from one industry and applying it to another. Iwan Cornelius, managing director of Amentum Aerospace and one of our Space Fast Start participants is one of those bold few who has navigated from healthcare to space entrepreneurship. Amentum Aerospace helps space industries mitigate harmful radiation effects on people and assets in space. We sat down with Iwan to understand more about his journey, his mission, and his advice for academics who are transitioning to entrepreneurship.
"Make sure you’re passionate about the business because deep tech is a long haul that is challenging (and rewarding). Buckle up! "
We’re on a mission to transform industries through predictive scientific modelling, helping them to be safer, innovate faster, and to be more sustainable. We're starting by helping the space and aviation industries to mitigate the harmful effects of space radiation on assets and personnel.
It took a few attempts! My academic career focused on developing sensors to monitor radiation effects on humans, and software to model the same, mostly for quality assurance of preclinical and clinical cancer treatments. Having said that, one of my first research jobs involved testing a radiation sensor payload for the MidSTAR-1 mission of the US Naval Academy (side note: the mission did encounter space radiation effects).
Although I absolutely loved working in international, multidisciplinary and diverse teams on cutting edge science & technology, I would periodically become disillusioned by the endless grant writing, the “publish or perish” pressures, and limited leadership opportunities of academia. So, I explored other careers such as software development, defence, and film & television, but eventually found my way back to research.
I ultimately leapt from academia in 2014 along with colleague and friend Dr Christopher Poole† to start a consulting business, and Amentum Aerospace was effectively spun out of that. Since 2016, Amentum has helped the Department of Defence to explore new technology concepts through modelling and simulation. We have bootstrapped the business, the team is growing steadily, and we are now commercialising technology to mitigate the risk of space radiation effects on satellites, aircrew, astronauts, and space tourists.
† Chris joined Amentum Aerospace as Technology Director in 2021, getting the band back together.
It seems we are the Leonardo DiCaprio of the Australian Space Oscars (next year is our year!), although being nominated itself helps to lift the company profile and gives the team much deserved recognition for their stellar work.
This year’s business goals: continue to add value to existing customers, do the same for new customers, double our headcount, double our revenue, and partner with the Australian space industry to release a sovereign and fit-for-purpose space radiation effects modelling capability.
We started a few weeks ago and Fast Start has already helped on multiple levels, including:
All in all, Fast Start is a compelling value proposition for any space startup. Five stars, highly recommended!
Current reading: “The New Strategic Selling” (following advice offered at a Cicada Innovations “C-Suite” lunch). My scientific training did not prepare me for the complexities of enterprise sales, and I’m on a steep learning curve!
Current listening: Firstly, Hiroshi Yoshimura - a pioneer of electronic ambient music - for focus. Secondly, “How I Built This with Guy Raz” - a podcast full of inspirational stories of successful companies and the founders behind them. There is much to be learned from the experiences of those who’ve gone before us.