AN ENGINEER’S VIEW OF START-UPS…

Professor Mohammed N. Islam,
EECS Department,
University of Michigan

ABSTRACT:
There is a long road from University Research to Commercial Products, and high-tech entrepreneurs are the marathon runners who take on the journey. Based on the marathon training from founding five high-tech start-ups, this talk shares with students and faculty 12 lessons “Learned the Hard Way.” Some of the challenges of starting companies are discussed, including selecting technology focus, setting appropriate goals, raising funds, pulling together the dream team, and interacting with the University and VC’s. Students have an invaluable role to play in the technology transfer process, and the climate is beginning to change to nurture and encourage more entrepreneurial activity at the U of M. Come listen to the talk, and see if you might want to join a start-up, or even start your own company.

BIO:
Mohammed N. Islam received the B.S. degree in 1981, the M.S. degree in 1983, and the Sc.D. degree in 1985, all electrical engineering, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. From 1985-1992, he was a member of the Technical Staff in the Advanced Photonics Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ. He joined the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1992, where he is currently a full tenured professor.

Prof. Islam has published over 112 papers in refereed journals and holds over 120 patents or patents pending. In addition, he has authored three books and has written several book chapters. He has also been an invited speaker at over 60 conferences and symposia, and he has served on numerous Conference technical committees, Advisory committees and Board of Directors.

Prof. Islam teaches a number of courses including Introduction to Photonics, Fiber Optic Communications, Patent Fundamentals, and High-Tech Entrepreneurship.

Prof. Islam has also founded several spin-off companies from the University of Michigan, including Xtera Communications, Omni Sciences, Celeste Optics, AccuPhotonics and Cheetah Omni. He is also a Registered Patent Agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is also CTO-Optics at Coherix, Inc. in Ann Arbor, MI.