Nanosphere's 40,000-square foot offices in Northbrook, Ill., are a maze of cubicles and laboratories, except for one corner of the building that's been cleared of all furniture. "In October we had a massive rain storm that flooded the office with four inches of water," explains William Cork, Nanosphere's chief technology officer. Cork and another colleague stayed until 4 a.m. pushing water out of the building. "Should the CTO do that? No, but in a small company ..." Cork smiles and shrugs.
"He's the type of guy that really rolls up his sleeves and gets involved in solving problems," says Nanosphere's cofounder and Northwestern University professor Chad Mirkin (who is also a member of The Scientist's editorial advisory board). Cork hasn't solved just the problem of wet floors, but the inevitable hurdles that accompany the development of new technology from concept to commercialization. After six years of development, Nanosphere is ready ...
