Dean's Advisory Committee

The expertise of the Hajim School Dean's Advisory Committee (DAC) is broad and deep, ranging from precision optics to investment banking, from alternative energy to wireless communications, from aerospace engineering to intellectual property law, from medical imaging to advanced manufacturing.

Twice a year the members of this committee gather to advise and counsel the dean on key aspects of the school's management. They offer insight and guidance on curricular initiatives, capital needs, trends in admissions and retention, career and internship services, and networking skills for students.

They also advise on the critical issues facing engineering, including a recent focus on communication and networking. Many participants from the DAC and other alums have volunteered their time to provide workshops for students outlining the importance of professional networking and communication.

All DAC members are also members of the George Eastman Circle, an influential group of University donors.

Current DAC Members

Nomi Bergman '85 (economics). Senior executive officer with Advance/Newhouse companies. Previously president of Bright House Networks cable television provider. Member of University's Board of Trustees; recipient of the University's John N. Wilder Award for philanthropy and service.

Aidymar Bigio '93 (mechanical engineering), senior director of engineering, Facebook Inc. Previously manufacturing and operations team leader at Google.

John Bruning. Former president, CEO of Corning Tropel Corp., precision optical subsystems and advanced form metrology instrumentation for the semiconductor, data storage, automotive, and industrial markets. Serves as a Trustee for the University of Rochester.

Scott DeGhetto '87 (electrical engineering). Managing director, Moelis & Company global investment bank. Former co-head, Power & Renewable Energy Group at Credit Suisse; managing director, Power and Pipeline Group at JP Morgan.

Stuart Elby '82 (optical engineering). Senior VP, advanced engineering, at Madison Square Garden Ventures. Previously served as senior vice president, cloud strategy and network technology at Infinera Corporation, and before that as VP and Chief Technologist, Verizon Labs, responsible for development of video platforms, and for developing network architecture in support of emerging products.

Stephen Fantone '79 (PhD optics). President, CEO of Optikos Corporation, manufacturer of equipment to measure optical image quality. Chair and president of the Partnership for Massachusetts' Future public policy lobbying group. Recipient, Distinguished Scholar Award (2015) and Distinguished Alumnus Award (2009).

Margo Georgiadas 'PA23, 'PP18. Partner, General Catalyst. Previously president and CEO of Ancestry and President of Americas and vice president of global operations at Google. Recipient, Eastman Medal.

Jeanine Hayes '92 (optics). VP, Women's Innovation for NIKE Inc. Previously chief IP officer, NIKE Inc. Previously VP and deputy general counsel of Yahoo! Inc. and general counsel and IP/litigation counsel at Overture Services Inc.(formerly known as goto.com), pioneer of Internet paid search.

Paul Horn '72, '74 (PhD physics). Distinguished Scientist in Residence, NYU. Founding partner and executive chair, Venly. Previously, professor at the University of Chicago; IBM Senior Vice President responsible for Research Worldwide; and NYU Senior Vice Provost responsible for research and technology transfer. Recipient, Hutchison Medal.

Michael Kahn 'BS81 'PA22 (mechanical engineering). CEO, Cobham Advanced Electronics Solutions. Previously served in multiple senior leadership positions within Northrop Grumman and Orbital ATK, where he was responsible for overall management of defense, space, strategic and commercial businesses and related operations.

Carol Karp '74 (biology). CEO for Prothena Biosciences, a clinical-stage biotechnology company. Previously held leadership roles with various biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including Esperion Therapeutics, Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy, CV Therapeutics and VIVUS. Regulatory advisor to SPARK Translational Research Program, Stanford University School of Medicine. Member of University's Board of Trustees.

Mike Morris, CEO, Apollo Optical Systems, Inc. Previously, CEO and Founder of RPC Photonics, Inc. Before that, CEO of Corning Rochester Photonics Corporation; CEO and Founder of Rochester Photonics Corporation (RPC); and Professor of Optics at The Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester for 19 years.

Scott Pomerantz '81, '83 (MBA). Co-Founder of Wildcast podcast industry networking platform. Also CEO and President and served as the executive member of the Board of Directors of MC10, an FDA-approved medical devices and sensor company.

Richard F. Rashid '77MS Optics, '80PhD Optics, '15HNR (Doctor of Science), 'PA24.Corporate Vice President Emeritus of Microsoft Corporation and founder of Microsoft Research, Microsoft's basic research organization. Former faculty member, Carnegie Mellon University.

Daniel Sabbah '81 (PhD computer science). Independent consultant and principal of DSabbah LLC. Senior consultant at Bridge Growth LLC. Former CTO and general manager, Next Generation Platform at IBM Corp. Previously IBM general manager of Tivoli Software and of Rational Software, and CTO for IBM Software Group. Recipient, Distinguished Alumnus Award (2019).

Linda Ann Smith '89 Optics. Chief Executive Officer, Ceres Technology Advisors, Inc. Previously held senior marketing and sales management positions at market leaders, Thermo Electron/Newport/Spectra Physics, and QIOPTIQ/Excelitas. Also executive marketing positions at emerging, venture capital funded companies commercializing silicon based integrated optics and MEMS technologies.