Texas A&M former student Steve Golden ’90 is a serial entrepreneur. With seven medical device startups under his belt, his problem-solving mindset and dedication to improving patient outcomes earned Golden the Texas A&M Department of Biomedical Engineering’s 2024 Outstanding Alumni Award.
The award is given annually to one biomedical engineering former student for their contributions to engineering or medicine, their impact on society, and their dedication to Texas A&M.
“It's humbling, a big honor and very much appreciated,” Golden said. “It validates the career path that I've chosen, that I've been able to help a lot of people out there with new medical technology using my degree.”
With grandparents residing in College Station, Golden knew he’d be an Aggie. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at Texas A&M and has maintained a career in medical device product development for the past three decades. Golden has been creating startup companies for the past two decades and is an inventor on over two dozen U.S. patents.
“I enjoy the idea of finding a clinical problem that needs to be solved and coming up with a medical device that solves that problem,” he said. “That's exactly what the startup world is all about in this space — any professional treating patients has problems they need to solve and what we can do as engineers is help them.”
It validates the career path that I've chosen, that I've been able to help a lot of people out there with new medical technology using my degree.
Golden is the founder and CEO of his current venture Slipstream Solutions, a startup dedicated to providing a solution for intense inflammation and pain, especially following surgery and medical treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.
“It's been super rewarding because I made the connections to start this company through the department,” Golden said. “One of my co-founders,Mateusz Gierdalski, graduated in 2022 with his master's in biomedical engineering. Another connection, John Hanks, a professor of practice, made some crucial introductions. All these things came together through people I had met in the department. It has come full circle.”
Golden credits his entrepreneurial spirit to former biomedical engineering department head Dr. William Hyman, who encouraged Golden to try to solve the big problems in the world. Now on the other side of his degree, Golden gives back to the department as an advisory board member and continues to find ways to engage with the department.
“Steve is an example of what Aggie engineers can do to make a difference in the world,” said department head Dr. Mike McShane. “He has also demonstrated a fearless, tenacious attitude towards taking on new challenges across a variety of technical areas, as well as encouraging and mentoring others to follow similar paths in pursuing careers with real impact. We are proud to recognize his accomplishments, we appreciate the guidance he provides to us through our advisory board, and we hope that our partnership will continue for many years.”