MS&E has a spotlight on alumni entrepreneurship

Katy Jinkins (PhDMS&E ’20), a Department of Materials Science and Engineering alumni has won the 2023 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan contest. The Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan contest is to encourage tech-enabled entrepreneurs in their startup stage of business. The contest benefits fresh entrepreneurs with a network of resources, advice, continuing education, management, and additional sources of funding.

Katy is the co-founder and CEO of SixLine Semiconductor, a Middleton, Wisconsin startup company that is developing materials for advanced electronics. SixLine technology enables commercialized next-generation electronics based on aligned carbon nanotubes.

As part of her company SixLine Semiconductor, Katy became an Activate Fellow in 2023 as a member of the Activate Anywhere Community. Katy’s fellowship helps guide her development of SixLine as a science entrepreneur.

Katy completed her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Materials Science and Engineering program in 2020. Her experience in the program greatly influenced her career path and the decision to start her own company, SixLine Semiconductor, along with her PhD advisor, Professor Mike Arnold. “The University of Wisconsin-Madison MS&E program offers opportunities for world-class research, classes, and facilities which sets students up for success as they are able to work and learn at the cutting edge of technology and innovation,” says Katy. “Additionally, the university and the MS&E department truly embody the Wisconsin Idea of moving forward and translating university R&D to innovations with broad impact, and that philosophy has helped drive my own inspiration to start a company and become an entrepreneur. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to be a part of the MS&E program and look forward to continuing to stay involved in the University of Wisconsin-Madison community in the future.”.

On Wisconsin!

Learn and explore more about Katy Jinkins’s company, SixLine Semiconductor.