The Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) serves as a key resource for UAlbany Innovation Center members, providing expertise, mentorship and strategic guidance to early-stage startups and entrepreneurial teams.
Our EIRs leverage their entrepreneurial experience to foster innovation, accelerate business growth and support the development of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. EIRs play a critical role in empowering entrepreneurs and advancing the mission of the UAlbany Innovation Center incubator to drive innovation and regional economic growth.
Dr. Karen Torrejon
Mike Shimazu is an experienced entrepreneur and innovation advisor with a career spanning startups, public service and academia. Early in his career, he spent a decade in the photonics industry, founding a venture-backed startup and addressing the challenges of startup finance, product-market fit and scaling science-based ventures.
At the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), he designed and led nationally recognized programs to accelerate commercialization and market entry for clean tech companies. He has served he National Science Foundation (NSF) as a commercial reviewer for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and as an I-Corps Industry Mentor and instructor. He also held senior roles at major research universities, supporting technology transfer and industry collaboration.
Mike holds three U.S. patents and earned degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.