Dr. Juan Figueroa

Dr. Figueroa worked at the National Science Foundation from 2002 – 2014 as a Program Director in the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). He has spent over twenty years in R&D management positions in the electronics and communications industries. At NSF he reviewed over three thousand innovative technology proposals and managed over 600 awards ranging from $100K to over $1M. His last position before joining NSF was Product Development Consultant for Material Sensing and Instrumentation, Inc. (MSI), an NSF SBIR awarded company. Dr. Figueroa served at the University of Puerto Rico as In-House Mentor - Entrepreneurship for Researchers Program, He is now Principal at JEFVentures, LLC. a company assisting institutions in the transfer of innovative technologies and solutions to the market. Currently working with the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust as Entrepreneurship Advisor and Associated Researcher responsible for transforming research into economic success. He is also Senior Technology Adviser to the DC ArchAngels, most recently partnered with the Tambourine Innovation Ventures in international entrepreneurial and educational activities.

Prior to MSI Dr. Figueroa was Director of Strategic Development and Project Management for the Home Communications Division of Ericsson, a multinational-telecommunications, and consumer electronics company. His first appointment after graduate school was with Bell Laboratories as a Member of the Technical Staff in Murray Hill, New Jersey and Allentown, Pennsylvania working in the development of the microprocessor, CMOS, and networking technologies.

Dr. Figueroa has been involved in emerging technologies such as Wi-Fi, cable modems, ADSL, Ethernet and Natural Language Processing.