Finding Your Why: Double Bruin Engineer and Innovator Equates Growth and Contribution with Fulfillment and Happiness

Bill Goodman M.S. ’91, Ph.D. ’95 hasn’t fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, but the Bruin entrepreneur leads a successful nanotech company building ultra-lightweight materials for space, defense and sustainable tech. He was named to UCLA’s Bruin Business 100 last year.

Goodman grew up in New York’s South Bronx near Little Italy in the 1960s and ’70s, raised by working-class parents — his mom worked for the NYPD and sewed clothes on the side; his dad was a night-shift postal clerk at Grand Central in Manhattan. Finding ways to entertain himself quietly while his dad slept during the day, Goodman became a voracious reader — taught how to read by his mom when he was just 3 years old. He also became interested in puzzles, board games and science fiction. By age 5, he was glued to Lost in Space and Star Trek, and dreamed of becoming an astronaut after watching the moon landing in 1969. “I wrote a letter to NASA asking how to become an astronaut,” recalled Goodman, who still keeps the blue “Dear Billy” postcard saying “thank you for your interest.”

Having placed fourth in the triple jump at the Eastern States Track Meets for two consecutive years while in high school, Goodman opted to attend the University of New Mexico over UCLA because the former offered him a walk-on spot and a partial engineering scholarship. However, he quit the team after not getting a full-ride even though he lettered in varsity indoor and outdoor track and placed third in the Western Athletic Conference. Goodman turned his attention to his studies, majoring in chemical engineering and secured an internship at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, now known as the Air Force Research Lab. At the suggestion of his boss, he got a full-time job in the Los Angeles office of W.J.Schafer Associates, where he worked for six years writing code and performing analysis of rocket engines and chemical lasers.

Inspired by a mentor at work who had a Ph.D. in materials engineering, Goodman decided to pursue a master’s in materials science and engineering and found his new academic home at UCLA while continuing to work full time. “I would sometimes use what I learned in class the very next day to solve a complex engineering failure analysis,” Goodman said. It was also during this time that he met the late Nobel-nominated chemist Marion Frederick Hawthorne, who encouraged Goodman to later apply for the Ph.D. program at UCLA. “Fred was like a second father to me,” Goodman said, recalling his time doing experimental research in one of Hawthorne’s labs.

On May 5, 1992, Goodman suffered one of the biggest challenges in his life — losing his first son less than three hours after the baby was born. Despite the devastation, Goodman put on a suit, went to class and presented his master’s project in front of his peers and professors. Hawthorne, among them, was the only person who knew what had just happened. The presentation was a success but the experience left him traumatized. It took him years to overcome the grief, and to this day, he continues to turn the worst-imaginable experience into helping others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Courtesy of Bill Goodman

Bill Goodman pictured at a lab in the Wichita State University, with a robot showcasing some of his NASA Spacecraft Thermal Protection System manufacturing technology

Throughout his graduate studies at UCLA, Goodman continued to work at W.J. Schafer Associates, helping pioneer ultra-large diameter silicon growth, matching, etching and polishing processes before developing his own lightweight mirror technology, the Silicon Lightweight Mirror Systems. Around that time, he learned about nanotechnology and automation, both of which eventually led to the founding of his own tech company.

In 2016, more challenges struck. Shortly after learning his then 13-year-old son needed heart surgery, Goodman was laid off from his job as vice president of business development at Trex Enterprises Corporation, a diversified high-technology company based in San Diego, California. He decided to start Goodman Technologies, initially offering professional coaching, business consulting and advanced materials solutions. Today, the business focuses on custom designing and manufacturing nanocomposite materials for extreme environments such as sea and space. Among the company’s many customers are NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. In 2023, Goodman moved the company headquarters from New Mexico to Largo, Florida after a visit to the area during the COVID pandemic, which disrupted the supply chain for his company and many other businesses. At one point, Goodman had to borrow money to pay taxes. But he found ways to not only survive the hard times but flourish. The company created a new light-weight structural process leveraging artificial intelligence-empowered additive and robotic manufacturing with nanomaterials. Goodman also invented a way to 3D-print body armor using carbon nanotubes, which are one of the strongest materials known. He is now working on the commercial application of his Aligned Nanoforest Technologies to provide lighter, more durable and sustainable solutions, including for hypersonic missiles and space capsules.

In a profile story last July, the St. Pete Catalyst likened Goodman to a “real-world Tony Stark,” a reference to the Iron Man fictional character, for his innovative work with nanotechnologies and robotics. While Goodman is yet to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut, the technology he invented has flown on multiple space missions.

“The reason you define a ‘why’ is because some days in the journey will be so painful you will want to quit, and you only fail if you quit,” said Bill Goodman. “It is your ‘why’ that will give you the reason to push through the pain.”

Looking back, Goodman credits action and faith for helping him overcome personal and professional challenges, as well as the importance of finding the reason why he tried so hard to make it in the first place. “The reason you define a ‘why’ is because some days in the journey will be so painful you will want to quit, and you only fail if you quit. It is your ‘why’ that will give you the reason to push through the pain.”

As an engineer and an entrepreneur, Goodman says he believes that one would feel empty and purposeless if there is no fulfillment and happiness to accompany achievements. So how does one obtain fulfillment and happiness? “Engineers like equations, and I am going to drop the secret of happiness on you here in one simple equation,” Goodman said. “GROWTH + CONTRIBUTION = FULFILLMENT + HAPPINESS.” To him, growth comes from continuing and never-ending improvement, and contribution involves sharing one’s time, knowledge, resources with others. And Goodman practices what he preaches.

Despite his many patents, awards and nearly 100 published scientific articles, Goodman said what made him most proud is when he took time off from his company to assist the Indian Rocks Beach community after hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the barrier island in Florida. He helped organize volunteer efforts to provide water, food and other resources to those in need.

“I was able to bring a smile or a laugh to virtually everyone I encountered, many of whom had lost every worldly belonging,” Goodman said. “I really felt proud that I was able to make a difference and help others.”