Engineering breakthroughs to improve defense and communication capabilities

Dr. Austin Hickman ’16

Co-Founder and CEO, Soctera, Inc.

MAJOR: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Austin Hickman ’16 has always had an eye for business, but his predilection for science led him down the path of electrical engineering as a Notre Dame undergraduate. He followed his passion for research to Cornell, where his graduate studies focused on the development of aluminum nitride (AIN)-based power amplifiers, which have yielded a breakthrough in the ability to produce high-power millimeter-wave frequency signals. Today, Hickman is combining his cutting-edge research developments with his business interest as the co-founder and CEO of Soctera, Inc.

As a member of the Cornell Engineering Commercialization Fellowship program, Hickman founded Soctera to develop AIN-based electronics with areas of application including defense radar and satellite communications. The company is a member of Launch NY, a nonprofit venture development organization serving upstate New York, and Cornell’s Praxis Center for Venture Development.

Hickman earned his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Notre Dame in 2016, and his Ph.D. from Cornell in 2021. At Notre Dame, he served as a resident assistant in Dillon Hall and was a member of the men’s rowing team. In Ithaca, he co-established the Cornell Rowing Club, where he remains a coach. In his spare time he also enjoys golfing, balcony gardening, and listening to Arctic Monkeys.