William H. Sanders installed as RIT’s 11th president

Susan Puglia is the 22nd Chairperson of the RIT Board of Trustees, serving previously as Vice Chair. She is the retired Vice President of Global Product Management at IBM, with 35 years experience in the information technology industry. Throughout her career, she held executive management positions in engineering, systems and software development, portfolio management, corporate quality, technical sales, and business transformation.

Her strengths include managing large global organizations and collaborating with and influencing change in complex business processes. She also served on the IBM Senior Leadership Team and the Technical Leadership Team, and she established and led several IBM global programs to attract, develop, and advance women in technical career paths.

Master of Ceremonies

Rafael Gilboa, a 4th year software engineering student and RIT Student Government President, has participated in a wide range of activities at RIT. He’s a 6-time Dean’s List student, has completed several prestigious co-ops, including placements at Keurig, Dr. Pepper, Honeywell, and the Air Force Research Laboratory, and is now seeking his first full-time job in the field of robotics. He plays club and intramural sports from hockey and sailing to volleyball and badminton.

Rafael is a founding member of the Student Alumni Alliance, now known as the University Advancement Ambassadors. He actively participates in RIT Jewish life, bartended on campus for his work study, writes code for RIT’s rocketry team, and is a brother of Phi Delta Theta

Denis Cormier is the Earl W. Brinkman Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering. His teaching and research interests focus on additive manufacturing and direct-write printing technologies for the synthesis of novel materials and geometric structures. He is also the founder and director of the New York State-supported Additive Manufacturing and Multifunctional Printing (AMPrint) Center. With nearly 30 years of additive manufacturing (AM) experience, he has been the principal investigator for over $30M in government and industry-sponsored research projects.

Jeyhan Kartaltepe is an astrophysicist in the School of Physics and Astronomy. She is an expert in the areas of galaxy formation and evolution, galaxy morphologies, galaxy mergers and interactions, and the properties of infrared galaxies. She is Co-Principal Investigator (PI) of the large collaboration COSMOS (The Cosmic Evolution Survey), PI of the COSMOS-Web Cycle 1 James Webb Space Telescope program, and a leading Co-Investigator for CEERS (The Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey). She mentors undergraduate, master's, and Ph.D. students, along with postdoctoral candidates in a wide range of research projects.

Ashique KhudaBukhsh is an Assistant Professor in the Software Engineering Department and is affiliated with the ESL Global Cybersecurity Institute, where he directs the Social Insight Lab. Dr. KhudaBukhsh’s current research lies at the intersection of natural language processing (NLP) and AI for Social Impact. In addition to having his research accepted at top artificial intelligence conferences and journals, his work has received widespread international media attention, including coverage from CNN, ABC News, The New York Times, BBC, Wired, The Daily Mail, VentureBeat, and Digital Trends.

Thomastine Sarchet-Maher is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Deaf Education at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). She serves as Assistant Dean for International Education to the NTID Administrative Council and has been director of the Center for International Educational Outreach since 2016, overseeing NTID’s international partnerships. She has over 15 years of experience leading deaf education development projects in Southeast Asia and Africa. She also serves as liaison to RIT Global Education and advises on admission of international deaf and hard of hearing applicants and students.

Josh Owen is the Vignelli Distinguished Professor of Design and the Director of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies. Owen is also the president of his eponymous design studio, Josh Owen LLC. His professional projects are produced by major manufacturers and have won numerous awards. His students' works have won awards, been exhibited and featured in international publications and critical venues, and have been put into mass production prior to graduation. Owen's professional work has been featured in major exhibitions worldwide, numerous books on design, and is regularly included in critical design discourse.

Since 2012, Sin Min Yap has shaped Ansys’ strategic vision and market strategy, and after the merger, continues to play a pivotal role in driving Synopsys’ strategy. He designs an integrated set of actions to drive sustainable revenue growth and a competitive advantage. He also develops strategic response plans to market opportunities and competitive threats, and builds a great strategy team that attracts, develops, excites, and retains exceptional people. He is a published author, with articles in the International Journal of Vehicle Design, and authored a Computer Aided Engineering Product Information Management (CAE PIM) guidebook.

Gilda A. Barabino is a trailblazer in chemical and biomedical engineering, renowned for her research in sickle cell disease and orthopedic tissue engineering. She has championed equity in STEM, where she strives to advance access and engagement. Before Olin, she served as Dean of the Grove School of Engineering at the City College of New York and held leadership roles at Georgia Tech, Emory, and Northeastern. She is a member of the National Academies of Engineering and Medicine, and the recipient of numerous prestigious awards.

Andreas C. Cangellaris is the founding president of NEOM University, previously spending 25 years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in leadership roles, including Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost, Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering, and Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering. An internationally recognized expert in applied electromagnetism and computational science, he has published over 300 scholarly works and co-authored a book on finite element methods. A Life Fellow of the IEEE, his accolades include the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award and the IEEE Distinguished Educator Award.

W. Kent Fuchs led the University of Florida to be a leading public research university, oversaw $1B+ in annual research, a $4.6B capital campaign, and expanded facilities by 2.8 million square feet. Under his leadership, the University of Florida created 600 new faculty positions, doubled applications, and launched major AI and research initiatives. Previously, he was provost of Cornell University and served in academic leadership positions and as a faculty member of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell, Purdue, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

James H. Garrett, Jr. was named Carnegie Mellon University's provost and chief academic officer in 2019 and was reappointed for a second term in 2024. A three-time CMU alumnus and faculty member since 1990, he previously served as dean of the College of Engineering and head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. As provost, he leads CMU's schools, colleges, institutes, and campuses, and is instrumental in institutional and academic planning and implementation. He has a strong focus on student success and experience so that students have the tools and opportunities they need to thrive at CMU and beyond.

Sarah C. Mangelsdorf has spearheaded investments in research and clinical enterprises, and overseen record fundraising at the University. She led the development of their 2030 Strategic Plan, “Boundless Possibility,” positioning the University as a future-focused global research institution. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and actively participates in national higher education organizations. Previously, she was provost at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and held dean positions at Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.