February 11, 2025
By Ashley Ritchie

Mike Tinskey, professor of the practice in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been appointed the inaugural Interim Associate Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He will hold the position for one year.

In this role, Tinskey will lead the Woodruff School’s strategic efforts in intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship and manage its portfolio of corporate partnerships. Some of his responsibilities will include expanding efforts in student and faculty start-ups; designing and refining intrapreneurship programs that prepare students for careers in corporate start-ups; developing a new self-sustaining initiative that applies engineering solutions to challenging social problems; and identifying and fostering new corporate partnerships and engaging advisory board members on partnership opportunities.

“I am thrilled to have Mike step into this inaugural role and deeply grateful for his dedication to driving innovation and entrepreneurship within the Woodruff School,” said Devesh Ranjan, Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair and professor.

Tinskey joined Georgia Tech in 2022. His research and teaching focus on intrapreneurship, electrification, and energy. Shortly after joining the Institute, he was named a Chair Fellow in Entrepreneurship and received discretionary support to develop business-related engineering curriculum, expand mentoring, and support intrapreneurship programs.

Tinskey has been instrumental in launching and teaching the new course Electric Vehicles & the Grid, which is providing a transformative learning experience to Georgia Tech students. The course teaches engineering principles of electric transportation and the energy infrastructure. The class also covers the emerging technologies of batteries, renewables, and connectivity that will allow further optimization of the products with the grid. Although EV courses are taught across the nation, the class's additional focus on the grid is a component that is missing from courses taught at other institutions.

The course was made possible through a partnership Tinskey spearheaded with Siemens. Siemens has been actively involved in the course, contributing to syllabus content and visiting students to talk about the electrification market, its growth, and future career opportunities. The company also hosted events for students at its Peachtree Corners office, where they had the chance to tour parts of the facility and were guided through dedicated learning stations that covered specific types of electrical charging technologies and load management. 

Tinskey has also played a vital role in discovering and cultivating additional corporate partnerships including Hyundai. Under Tinskey's leadership, Hyundai America Technical Center and Georgia Tech have signed a master research agreement and partnered on leading edge automotive research with over $1.8 million in projects to date across the Institute.

Before joining Georgia Tech, Tinskey worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years, and most recently served as their Global Director of Electrification. He is a co-founder of Cobra Motorcycles, as well as a drone start-up, Cobra Aero. He has served on the Woodruff School and ECE advisory boards for well over a decade and also enjoys mentoring start-ups and CREATE-X teams.