Mr Colin Hayhurst

Post:	Innovation Partnership Fellow (Data Intensive Science Centre at the University of Sussex)
Personal homepage:	LinkedIn Profile

What is this?

Biography

Previously I was a co-founder of Century Dynamics Limited, an applied physics and engineering software company. Having successfully bootstrapped and grown the company it was successfully sold to NASDAQ listed ANSYS in 2005.

At Century Dynamics I started out developing our first product, gradually developing a team around me and eventually leading four product teams. Later as CEO, I opened overseas offices, developed effective partnerships, diversified the business, lead a sales team and acquired another business. Our unique technologies and skills meant that I was lucky enough to work on design projects for the ISS and the LHC.   

After this exit, between 2006 and 2011, I was lucky enough to work closely with around 100 startups and high growth businesses; helping them these technology and science based businesses with investment readiness, IP, business models and connections. A large part of the role was mentoring company founders.

In 2011, I founded StackBlaze with James Cunningham and this later evolved into GoScale. We launched three internet infrastructure products and were a Y Combinator startup in summer 2012.

I have worked in, and with, a large number of universities in commercial and research roles. Both in entrepreneurship programs and in engineering and physics research.

I am a chartered engineer with experience in a several industry sectors.

Role

Responsible for enhancing the innovation, knowledge exchange, and commercial potential arising from activities in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. I help others across the University, notably those funded by STFC

I am employed by and based at the Univeristy of Sussex but also do work with Physics departments across SEPNet: The South East Physics Network of Universities.

I support researchers from several fields in physics from quantum technologies to cosmology and many types of mathematical modelling.