2026 Distinguished Alumni Award

Grant Tremblay

Ph.D. '11

Grant Tremblay (RIT PhD, Astrophysical Sciences & Technology, 2011) is an Astrophysicist and head of External Relations at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and Vice President of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). Previously, he was a NASA Einstein Fellow at Yale University, a Fellow at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) near Munich, and an Astronomer at ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile. He has authored more than 100 publications in astronomical journals and three books for the general public, including The Sky and Other Ghosts: Our Fading Age of Discovery, coming soon from Princeton Press. He frequently appears on documentary series from the Science and Discovery Channel, including How the Universe Works, as well as in recent and forthcoming projects with the BBC and PBS NOVA.

2024 Distinguished Alumni Award

Erich Hernandez-Baquero

Ph.D. '00

Vice President, Raytheon Company

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Erich “HB” Hernandez-Baquero is the Vice President of Space Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance at Raytheon, an RTX business. He leads the development and sustainment of command & control, communications, and data processing systems for surveillance & reconnaissance missions from space in support of the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. Prior to this role, Hernandez-Baquero was the Director of Advanced Ground Systems in Department 22, Raytheon Intelligence and Space, where he led the development of mission solutions for multidomain operations leveraging advancements in autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, tracking, fusion, modeling and simulation, modern software, and distributed architectures.

Prior to joining RTX, Hernandez-Baquero served as the senior materiel leader of Integrated Ground Enterprise at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) where he led a wing-level joint organization life cycle acquisition of command and control and data processing systems supporting vital missions for the DOD and Intelligence Community.

Hernandez-Baquero served in a variety of acquisition programs for the USAF, including test and evaluation at the Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base, research and technology projects at the NRO, and advanced space programs that enabled new intelligence collection capabilities. Hernandez-Baquero was also a regional affairs specialist and served as advisor to the Inter-American Defense Board of the Organization of American States.

Hernandez-Baquero holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the United States Air Force Academy, a master’s degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and a doctorate degree in imaging science from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

2023 Distinguished Alumni Award

Nicholas Conn

BS '11, MS '13, Ph.D. '17

Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Casana

Nick is the founder and chief scientific officer of Casana. Nick is trailblazing in the world of medical devices with his toilet seat-based cardiovascular monitoring system. Nick's passion for innovation and commitment to improving patient outcomes drove him to complete his Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering, where he first developed the technology that would ultimately become the backbone of Casana's transformative platform. His innovative approach to medical device development, combined with his extensive knowledge of IoT and wearable technologies, has positioned Casana as a key player in the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.

Nick specializes in custom algorithm development, ultra-low power embedded system and instrumentation design, signal processing, cardiovascular anatomy and physiology, cloud infrastructure, business development, and leadership.

2022 Distinguished Alumni Award

Bruce Smith

BS/MS '89, Ph.D. '95

Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT

Bruce Smith ’84, ’88 MS, ’95 Ph.D. (imaging science) is an RIT Distinguished Professor, and has been a member of the faculty in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering since 1988. He has over 200 publications that have involved his students in the fields of microlithography and semiconductor processing. He holds 27 patents and has been instrumental in the advancement of semiconductor and integrated circuit patterning technology.

Bruce Smith ’89, ’89 MS, ’95 Ph.D. (imaging science) has been a member of the RIT engineering faculty in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering since joining the microelectronic engineering program in 1988. He has developed courses in semiconductor lithography, materials, and processing that have been used as the basis for classes at universities worldwide.

2021 Distinguished Alumni Award

Ryan Bowen

BS '08, MS '13, Ph.D. '16

Chief Technology Officer at NRGXP

For Ryan Bowen, RIT’s inaugural Distinguished Doctoral Alumni Award winner, nothing is more exciting and challenging than creating innovative engineering solutions to present-day emergent problems. A three-time alumnus of RIT, receiving his BS & MS in Computer Engineering and his Ph.D. in Microsystems Engineering, Ryan is Chief Technology Officer at NRGXP - a multi-disciplinary technology company with a focus on building and integrating devices in the IoT Ecosystem.

His research and development work includes multiple patents and publications related to biometrics, machine learning, and algorithm development as well as leading R&D for a product called NIGHTWATCH which is a wearable technology for horses that helps detect the onset of distress by monitoring their behavior and biometrics. The product was a finalist at the 2018 SXSW Conference in the Interactive Innovation Awards in Wearable Tech.

As a proud supporter of RIT and a founding member of the Sentinel Society donor community, Ryan finds time to volunteer with the university as a member of the RIT Graduate School Dean’s Advisory Council. He also attends and supports the Graduate Showcase each year as a judge and session chair. In addition to his fulltime job at NRGXP, Ryan is an adjunct professor at RIT, teaching advanced programing in the Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering Department.

In his personal life, Ryan enjoys spending time with his family including his wife and fellow alum, Alexandra, and their two children. When time permits, he enjoys hiking the high peaks in the Adirondacks.