About Blaise Mibeck & Cubic Labs
Twenty-two years of applied materials research, now working for you directly.
Blaise Mibeck at the PANalytical Empyrean XRD, Purdue University.
I'm Blaise Mibeck — the founder and sole scientist behind Cubic Labs LLC. I'm not a sales team or a production floor. I am the person who designs your project, runs your samples, interprets your data, and writes your report.
My background is applied physics and materials science. Over 22 years I've characterized a wide range of unusual materials: fly ash and coal combustion byproducts, active pharmaceutical ingredients, battery cathode materials, geological core samples, failed industrial components, and electronic waste. The through-line across all of it has been X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and electron microscopy — techniques I find genuinely fascinating and have spent most of my career mastering.
I hold an M.S. in Physics from the University of North Dakota. I'm a subject matter expert in powder XRD, XRF, and SEM-EDX, and I'm experienced in X-ray CT, optical microscopy, image analysis, and machine learning applied to materials data.
Professional Background
Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) — University of North Dakota
~2003–2023 · Grand Forks, ND
For two decades I worked at the EERC, one of the leading applied energy research organizations in the United States. My focus was characterizing solid materials from fossil fuel combustion, carbon capture, oil and gas production, and environmental remediation — work where getting the mineralogy right had real regulatory, engineering, and economic consequences.
This is where I built the core of my expertise: deep, practical knowledge of powder XRD phase identification and quantification, XRF elemental analysis, SEM-EDX microcharacterization, and optical microscopy. I also spent years developing and maintaining laboratory instruments, managing projects, and working directly with clients in energy, environmental, and government sectors.
Triclinic Labs — Lafayette, Indiana
2023–2024 · Lafayette, IN
I joined Triclinic Labs, a well-regarded pharmaceutical solid-state contract research organization, bringing my diffraction and fluorescence capabilities into a more documentation-intensive environment. The experience reinforced my standards for analytical rigor and client communication, and introduced me to the broader materials characterization community in Lafayette — including Purdue's core facilities, which I now access for client work.
Cubic Labs LLC — Lafayette, Indiana
2025–Present · Lafayette, IN
I founded Cubic Labs to offer the analytical depth I'd brought to large institutions, but with the directness and flexibility that only an independent practice can provide. The Cubic Labs story is in the next section.
About Cubic Labs LLC
Cubic Labs LLC was founded in 2025 on a straightforward observation: most materials characterization work doesn't require a large institution. It requires the right instruments, deep expertise, and someone who will actually think about your problem — not just run a standard test and hand you a number.
Large labs serve large clients with predictable, high-volume workflows. Academic labs have long queues and limited availability. Independent labs with real instrumentation access and no minimum commitments are rare. Cubic Labs fills that gap for industrial, environmental, geological, and research clients who need quality analytical work done without the overhead.
The business is built around Purdue University's core facilities — the PANalytical Empyrean powder XRD, the Malvern Panalytical Epsilon 4 EDXRF, and the Thermo Fisher Apreo 2S FEG SEM with EDX — supplemented by in-house equipment including a helium pycnometer and a full sample preparation lab. Clients get university-grade instrumentation and direct access to the scientist operating it. There is no middleman.
Cubic Labs is not accredited under Nadcap, A2LA, or ISO 17025. For most industrial and research clients this is not a barrier, and I'm upfront about when it might be. I'd rather tell you early than have it surface mid-project.
How we work
Every project starts with a conversation about the underlying question — not just the test. What decision is this data going to support? What do you already know? What level of certainty do you actually need? That conversation is free, and it frequently changes the scope of work in ways that save money and produce more useful results.
We work with clients in geological and mining services, industrial manufacturing and failure analysis, environmental consulting, battery and critical materials, e-waste characterization, and academic research. If your project doesn't fit a standard service tier, we'll build a custom analytical plan from scratch.
Credentials & Capabilities at a Glance
Education
M.S. Physics
University of North Dakota
Experience
22+ years in applied materials and energy research
Core Techniques
Powder XRD · XRF · SEM-EDX · X-ray CT · Optical Microscopy · Image Analysis · Machine Learning
Instrumentation
PANalytical Empyrean XRD · Malvern Panalytical Epsilon 4 XRF · Thermo Fisher Apreo 2S FEG SEM · Micromeritics AccuPyc II 1340 Helium Pycnometer
Prior Institutions
Energy & Environmental Research Center (UND) · Triclinic Labs (Lafayette, IN)
Key Markets
Geological & Mining · Battery Materials · E-waste & Critical Metals · Failure Analysis · Environmental · Pharmaceutical (non-GMP)
If you have a materials problem you're not sure how to approach, I'm glad to talk it through. No commitment required.
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