Matt Hanson

Biography

Matthew (“Matt”) Hanson serves as the Director of New Ventures at the University of California, Irvine, where he leverages his extensive experience in innovation and entrepreneurship to drive new initiatives. With a diverse background spanning military service, government relations, aerospace and medical technology industries, and various roles in academia, Matt brings a unique perspective to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. He holds a doctorate in aerospace engineering from USC and an MBA from Chapman University, combining technical expertise with business acumen.

Matt's career began in the U.S. Air Force, where he worked on the GPS navigation system and developed national space policy before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. His experience extends to the private sector, including roles at Northrop Grumman's stealth bomber program and as a co-founder of the medtech startup Integrated Medical Systems, Inc. At Beckman Coulter, he led teams developing cutting-edge diagnostic systems and cloud-based analytics platforms.

Passionate about nurturing the next generation of innovators, Matt transitioned to academia, teaching entrepreneurship as clinical faculty at Chapman University and serving as its entrepreneur center director. In his current role at UC Irvine, he is dedicated to fostering innovation and supporting new ventures that address societal challenges. Matthew is also an inventor, holding a patent for a history logging system for biological samples.

Bringing his experience as a UC student, parent, brother, father-in-law, instructor and staff member to the role of Staff Advisor to the Regents, he continues to apply his unique perspective in collaboration with others to amplify staff voices on critical issues and ensure staff perspectives are effectively integrated into broader discussions about UC's brilliant future.