About
Dr. Samuel Kim is the Interim Chief Innovation Officer and Managing Director of New Ventures for the Texas A&M University System. In these roles, he leads the System’s innovation agenda, driving research commercialization, startup creation, and strategic partnerships with corporate, venture, and government stakeholders to translate university discoveries into real-world impact.
Dr. Kim brings over two decades of experience in deep-technology commercialization, spanning every stage of the innovation lifecycle — from inventor and published researcher, to entrepreneur and startup operator, to venture capital fund manager. He founded and led early-stage venture funds that built extensive syndicates of Fortune 500 corporate co-investors to commercialize university spinouts in advanced materials, semiconductors, photonics, and nanotechnology. He has served in senior technology and business leadership roles in startups, guided companies from laboratory proof-of-concept through production scale-up and acquisition, and served on multiple boards and advisory councils advancing university-based innovation and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Kim holds a dual Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Nanotechnology from the University of Washington and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. He is a named inventor on multiple patents and has received best paper awards at international conferences.
