Meet the People
Lehigh University's Technical Entrepreneurship master's program brings experienced entrepreneurs from numerous industries into the classroom to impart real-world insight and guidance in product and business development. The program's innovative faculty members are experts in the fields of entrepreneurial thinking and product design, teaching students how to create, build, and launch ideas from the ground up.
TE Faculty
Michael Lehman
Program Director; Professor of Practice
M.D., MBA, B.S.
- Experience as Director, PantherlabWorks, University of Pittsburgh; New Technologies Project Manager, Depuy International, a Johnson & Johnson Company; and Instructor, Penn State College of Medicine
- National presenter on experiential learning and entrepreneurship curriculum, including conferences for American Society for Engineering Education, Venture Well, and Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education
- TE focus: interdisciplinary innovation, new venture teams, financing the venture, creativity methods, growth strategy for technical companies
One finds Michael Lehman at the intersection of entrepreneurship, science, and higher education. Prior to joining the Lehigh faculty, Lehman developed and grew new entrepreneurship programs at the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, part of the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration. At Pitt, he served as director of PantherlabWorks, a consulting group designed to catalyze the commercialization of new technologies by supporting innovators and entrepreneurs from a variety of academic backgrounds and professional experiences. As director of student entrepreneurship, he created new academic courses and cross-campus programs to provide hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students throughout the university. Earlier in his career, Lehman was founding director of the Juniata College Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Lehman serves on the advisory board of several technical-based startups and is a regular presenter at national conferences, including VentureWell (formerly National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance). Lehman holds a B.S. from Juniata College, an M.D. from the Penn State College of Medicine, and an M.B.A. from the Leeds University Business School in England.
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Joshua Cohen
Adjunct Professor
J.D., B.S. Mechanical Engineering
- Shareholder and Director, RatnerPrestia; Design Group founder and Consumer Products Group lead
- President Emeritus and Board Chair, Greater Philadelphia Chapter, Product Development and Management Association
- TE focus: product differentiation, product development process, technology/design innovation, intellectual property strategy and risk management
Joshua Cohen, a shareholder of intellectual property law firm RatnerPrestia, has practiced intellectual property law since 1992, drawing from his engineering and legal background to help emerging companies and multi-national corporations protect and respect IP rights. Cohen executes strategies that protect product innovations in the U.S. and abroad by securing patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secret, and copyright rights. He also reduces the IP risks associated with new technology and design innovations. Cohen earned his Engineering degree from Lehigh University and his Law degree from Widener University, where he served as editor-in-chief of Widener’s Law Review. Cohen is president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Product Development and Management Association, an organization dedicated to promoting and managing product innovation, and he is an executive committee member of the Tokyo Intellectual Property American Inn of Court, a Tokyo-based organization chartered to promote excellence in professionalism, ethics, and civility in IP law. He lectures internationally about IP strategies and best practices.
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Matthew Fuchs
Adjunct Lecturer
M. Eng. Technical Entrepreneurship, B.S., Mechanical Engineering (Aerospace minor)
- Co-founder and CTO, LehDrex, an engineering company focused on bringing hardware technology to the market
- TE focus: design-for-manufacturing, manufacturing ramp up, new product launch, business operations
Matthew Fuchs, a graduate of the Technical Entrepreneurship program in 2012 is a co-founder of LehDrex, an engineering company focused on bringing hardware technology to the market. Fuchs has developed aerial and ground based robotics, chromatographic and CO2 extraction systems, co-owned a machine shop and worked in plastics manufacturing. While working in industry he has launched two hardware based start ups, been involved with entrepreneurship programs amongst multiple universities and has coached other start ups throughout his career.
Joseph E. Maenner
Adjunct Professor
J.D., B.S. Mechanical Engineering
- Founder and Patent Attorney, Maenner & Associates, LLC
- Experience as a practicing mechanical engineer in the Department of the Navy
- TE focus: intellectual property strategy, product development process, patent protection for independent inventors and growing companies
Attorney Joe Maenner founded Maenner & Associates, LLC in 2011 after practicing in intellectual property boutique firms and general practice firms, as well as serving as in-house counsel for a small high-technology startup company. He has taken the “best practices” from all of those experiences and molded them together to produce his firm. Maenner graduated from the Dickinson School of Law (now part of the Pennsylvania State University) in 1996 and began actively practicing intellectual property law in 1998. His client base has ranged from Fortune 500 companies to large research universities, from small, privately held companies to independent inventors.
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Maureen W. Rinkunas
Adjunct Lecturer
MBA, M.S. Chemical Engineering, B.S. Chemical Engineering
- Director, Innovation and Partnerships, VentureFuel
- Managing Partner, CheMat Venture Partners
- TE focus: corporate innovation, open innovation, lean startup, venture fundraising, design thinking
Maureen (Moe) Rinkunas has worked with hundreds of teams to bring ideas to market and enjoys guiding entrepreneurs through the chaos inherent in new markets and undefined opportunities. Most of her career has been focused on Health Tech and Deep Tech verticals, with a passion for bringing disruptive technologies into these markets.
Previously, Moe guided teams of talented entrepreneurs, developers, and designers to build early stage healthcare ventures in partnership with corporate partners. She also trained DuPont scientists and engineers to embrace creativity and innovation and helped relaunch DuPont Ventures to enable stronger collaboration with startups. She is an experienced innovation operations leader, having built acceleration and investing platforms at Dreamit Ventures and laid the groundwork for a new commercialization process at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In addition to teaching, Moe is an active startup mentor for 500 Startups, mHub, IndieBio, HITLAB, I-Corps, and other programs for early-stage entrepreneurs. She is a proud Lehigh alumna, holding a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering as well as an M.B.A. in Corporate Entrepreneurship.
Brian Slocum
Managing Director, Design Labs, Wilbur Powerhouse; Adjunct Lecturer
MFA (ABD) Design, B.A. English and Theatre Design
- Co-founder, Isosceles Design Studio, LLC
- TE Focus: iterative prototyping, 3D modeling and design, metal and plastic additive manufacturing
In addition to managing Lehigh University's Wilbur Powerhouse Prototyping Lab and Chandler-Ullmann Wood Shop, Brian Slocum teaches courses in prototyping and metalworking and advises Integrated Product Development teams. Returning to Lehigh (his alma mater '97) after completing the MFA Design program at North Carolina School of the Arts, Slocum has worked in both Lehigh's Theatre Department and Design Arts Program. In addition to his work at the university, Slocum co-founded Isosceles Design Studio, LLC, a design firm specializing in custom furniture and architectural and interior design.
Kelly Zona
Manager, Design Labs, Wilbur Powerhouse; Adjunct Lecturer
M. Arch., B.S. Architecture
- Lead in ramping up Lehigh’s Electronics Design Studio, a hub for circuit prototyping, testing and PCB (printed circuit board) fabrication
- TE Focus: Prototyping, CAD, digital fabrication, iterative design, electronics, programming, physical computing
Kelly is Manager of the Design Labs, Wilbur Powerhouse, at Lehigh University. She has spent the past decade working in makerspaces, teaching concepts in CAD/CAM, design and engineering, and electronics and programming. Previously she has worked in various roles centered around creative technology for organizations including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US Special Operations Command, the Fab Foundation, Fab Academy, Fab Lab Baltimore, Fab Lab DC, the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM, Johns Hopkins University, and Northeastern University. She holds a Master of Architecture from Cornell University, a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in architecture from SUNY Buffalo, and a Diploma in Digital Fabrication from Fab Academy.
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Staff
Susan Kanarek
Graduate Coordinator
Susan attended Cedar Crest College, has more than 25 years’ experience in the Media & Publishing industries. She comes to Lehigh from The Morning Call, where she worked for over 13 years and most recently served as a Media Sales Planner. She also was employed at Rodale, Inc., on the Runner’s World Magazine staff, where she worked with the Race Sponsorship Program that included traveling to expos, races & marathons across the United States. Her diversified skills include client relations, research & data analysis, marketing, presentations & proposals, project management, media & event planning, digital knowledge and trade show experience.