Professor Matthew Mashikian – who retired from UConn to start a multimillion-dollar company – is making sure that engineering student entrepreneurs have an easier path to success. He is also teaching again – this time about giving back. 

That was the message the former Electrical & Computer Engineering professor gave to friends, family and UConn leaders at a July 29 campus event, as he announced a gift of $1 million to endow the Matthew & Margarethe Mashikian Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hub in the College of Engineering. The endowment will help students, faculty and researchers learn about and pursue technological entrepreneurship opportunities. 

Mashikian retired in 1997 with an idea he was certain he could build into a viable business. With the support of several past engineering deans, he rented space on the Depot Campus for what would become IMCORP – a company that provides leading technology for diagnosing and pinpointing problems with underground electrical power cables.  

Mashikian said he and his wife, Margarethe, wanted to make a gift that represented their affection for the College of Engineering, and to have their donation serve as an example to other faculty and alumni about the importance of giving back to UConn. Addressing some of the challenges students face in the engineering world, Mashikian talked about the value of having people who believe in and support you.   

“I faced many challenges myself,” he said. “Twenty-seven years ago, I was retiring from UConn and decided to use some of the patents that several of my colleagues and I at the University had developed. I needed some help to move from academia into the ‘real world.’ I wish, that at that time, we had a center that would have helped me. I hope these difficulties will be made easier to confront for others, whether they are students or faculty, who want to become entrepreneurs.” 

Former College of Engineering Dean Kazem Kazerounian, who returned to teaching on August 1, expressed his appreciation for the generous gift. He emphasized that faculty and student innovation is the bedrock of UConn’s success. Commenting on the Mashikian gift, Kazerounian said, “Matt and Margarethe, your investment in our students and faculty continues to ‘fuel the fire of innovation in the belly.’ You’ve shown that same fire, innovation, and passion in your own careers. We learn from you.”  

For more information about donations and gifts to the College, visit UConn Engineering.