NTID President Gerard Buckley, who made history as the first RIT/NTID alumnus to become president of the college, has announced his intention to step down in summer 2025 after leading the National Technical Institute for the Deaf for 15 years. His tenure as NTID president caps a career in higher education spanning more than 40 years. His last day as president will be July 18, 2025.   “Fifty years ago, I entered RIT/NTID as a freshman student, and this college profoundly changed my life,” said Buckley. In his Nov. 26 message to the RIT community regarding Buckley’s intention to step down, RIT President David Munson praised Buckley as a fierce advocate for students and for his dedication to improving opportunities for members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Buckley joined NTID in 1990 as an assistant professor and chairperson of NTID’s Department of Educational Outreach. He later served as director of NTID’s Center for Outreach, associate dean of student services, and assistant vice president for college advancement before being named president. He graduated from RIT/NTID in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in social work and went on to earn a master’s degree in special education from the University of Missouri and a doctorate in special education from the University of Kansas. “Throughout his career, Gerry has been a fierce advocate for students, while dedicating his professional life to improving opportunities for members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community,” said RIT President David Munson. “He is respected throughout the nation in the field of deaf education and, on our campus, he is recognized as a leader in fostering a highly inclusive, supportive culture. For me, it has been, and continues to be, a true pleasure to work with Gerry.” As NTID president, Buckley strengthened and steadily increased U.S. Congressional support for the federally funded college and its mission. Other NTID achievements during his tenure include:Raising $51 million for Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness; Establishing the NTID Regional STEM Center and expanding STEM Outreach activities and STEM Academies, all designed to prepare deaf and hard-of-hearing students for career success; Strong student enrollments, including a 4% increase for fall ’24; Consistently maintaining placement rates for graduates at the college’s record 94 percent level; Establishing the Deaf Health Care and Biomedical Science Hub, along with expanded partnerships with University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Regional Health, designed to increase deaf representation in health care and scientific fields; Strengthening NTID’s commitment to diversity through establishing the NTID Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Randleman Program, and the NTID Faculty Fellowship Program; Graduation of the first three deaf students to earn doctoral degrees from RIT. “I spent a decade working externally before returning to NTID as a faculty member in 1990,” Buckley said. “RIT/NTID has changed the lives of thousands of deaf students during our 60+ year history, and I am honored to have served as president over the past 15 years. I am thankful to the dedicated faculty and staff of NTID who continue to fulfill our mission of preparing young deaf and hard-of-hearing students for outstanding career success. I am especially thankful for the tremendous support of my wife, Judy, over the years and her active engagement in our community. We consider ourselves blessed to have had this opportunity to serve.” RIT will launch a national search for the next president of NTID. Munson said RIT will engage students, faculty, staff, and alumni during the search.

A new National Science Foundation grant will allow 18 RIT students to travel to Sweden and conduct artificial intelligence (AI) research that enhances the industrial workplace. The students will take part in a program of AI research, professional development, and mentorship, which includes eight weeks at University West, near Gothenburg, Sweden. The trip and program are funded as part of the NSF International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program. A team of RIT professors and collaborators at University West are running the program, which prioritizes Ph.D. students. The NSF-funded grant is called US-Swedish Research Experiences on AI in Production Technology and Work-Integrated Learning (AI-PROWIL). The research projects will advance fundamental scientific research on AI-enhanced automation, AI-enhanced automatic control, and AI-enhanced management. “AI is transforming how industrial organizations operate, including on global scales,” said PI Cecilia Alm, a professor affiliated with RIT’s Department of Psychology and School of Information and director of the AWARE-AI program. “AI plays a prominent role in Industry 5.0—where robots, smart systems, and humans are teaming up.” Alm said that University West is known for its unique scientific environment focused on work and industrial production and its advanced facilities enabling fundamental research that is future-of-work-centered. She added that challenges with workforce development and managing these AI-enhanced aspects of industry are important areas to study. Students participating as IRES scholars in this U.S.-Sweden partnership will complete projects that are industry-inspired for future human-centered and sustainable workplaces, guided by faculty mentoring teams. The research projects could involve innovative machine learning algorithms, architectures, and new AI interface prototypes and sensor methods. During the research experience, RIT students will interact with peer students at University West and experience international research cultures. The IRES scholars will also seek to present, publish, and release research products with mentors. “Research has increasingly become a global endeavor, where different countries and universities may create unique cultures, environments, and approaches to research problems and development,” said Pengcheng Shi, computing and information sciences Ph.D. program director. “This experience will allow our students to benefit from different perspectives and technical/application strengths, address new research questions, and form concrete long-term collaborative relationships.” Co-principal investigators on the grant, include Shi, who is also associate dean for Research and Scholarship in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences; Reynold Bailey, professor of computer science; and Alexander Ororbia, assistant professor of computer science and cognitive science. Professor Thomas Pederson is coordinating the activities at University West. “At University West, we are very much looking forward to hosting the participating RIT Ph.D. students and collaborating with them and their mentors to address important research challenges together,” said Pederson. The NSF IRES program is training a new generation of science and engineering research leaders. The U.S.-Sweden program will run from September to December in 2025, 2026, and 2027. The stay in Sweden begins in mid-September. The experience includes pre-travel research and professional development. A continuation phase with a workshop after the trip will be a springboard for research dissemination in publications and talks at top-tier conferences. To learn more and apply, go to the IRES AI-PROWIL website.

Rochester Institute of Technology received a boost in funding recently, as a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State will continue the work led by professors Clyde Eirikur Hull and Eric Williams with entrepreneurships based on circular economy principles in member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The circular economy refers to an industrial economy that focuses on reducing waste by reusing and recycling materials. It’s designed to keep products and resources in use for as long as possible through thoughtful design. ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states that promotes intergovernmental cooperation in a wide range of areas, including the economy, politics, and education. The member states include Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.   ‌ Photo provided by Clyde Hull RIT Professor Clyde Eirikur Hull takes a question from the audience during the Second Symposium on Accelerating Science, Technology, and Circular Innovation in Vientiane, Laos, this past July. The one-year extension, made possible through the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership under the leadership of Program Manager Helen Santiago Fink, aims to help organizations in ASEAN countries train entrepreneurs, businesses, and lawmakers to use sustainability science to identify profitable, eco-friendly opportunities. It focuses on developing innovative technologies and business models that strengthen local economies, foster ties with the U.S., and reduce environmental harm. By applying circular economy principles and leveraging the team’s expertise in innovation and technology management, the initiative collaborates with local partners and the State Department to deliver training that supports sustainable business growth and environmental preservation. The professors are joined by Israa Ameen Thiab, visiting assistant professor at Saunders and a Ph.D. candidate in RIT’s sustainability program; Mihloti Williams, senior program manager at the Competitive Sustainability Center at the Saunders College of Business; research program manager Khant Oak Soe ’23 (technology innovation management and entrepreneurship); and senior program specialist Rachel Spangler ’16 (metals and jewelry design). They will be continuing their circular economy education training with over 50 partners in the ASEAN region, which includes over 37 universities and 15 business incubators and non-profit organizations, while also lending financial support to new circular economy startup companies. In total, more than 100 teachers and nearly 1,000 students have been trained. Hull, professor of management in RIT’s Saunders College of Business, center director at the Competitive Sustainability Center and the grant’s principal investigator, was grateful for the creative solutions that his team has witnessed from within the region, from businesses finding solutions for food waste, to high-tech plastics recycling, and organic fertilizer stemming from local materials that originally went to waste stations. “A key lesson we’ve learned is the value of training diverse groups—ranging from those with no work experience or high school education to individuals with advanced degrees,” Hull said. “The people who do our training are starting an amazing array of circular businesses, which is both good for the environment and profits.” ‌ Photo provided by Clyde Hull RIT professor Eric Williams explains his research on use of end of first-use electronics and the effect of informal recycling in ASEAN member nations. Williams, professor of sustainability in Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) and co-PI on the grant, focuses his research on the end of first-use electronics and how informal recycling practices impact ASEAN member nations. “We aim to reduce environmental harm from informal recycling in Asian nations by shifting materials to proper facilities, which are more efficient and environmentally sound,” Williams said. “This approach could yield a win-win-win: greater material recovery, less environmental damage, and improved economic benefits for those in the end-of-use chain, including the informal sector. While outcomes depend on policy and other factors, we’re working to nudge things in the right direction.” Their research abroad also comes stateside. Thiab recently led a circular economy entrepreneurship workshop at RIT’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship, bringing insight from practices in her native Jordan to local businesses. The workshop focused on transforming existing business ideas into circular business ventures that both enhance profitability and help reduce the amount of waste going into landfills. “It’s very exciting to see our work having an impact, making a difference in people’s lives, in the local economy, and for the environment,” Hull said. “Our students and the students of our partners create jobs for themselves and others where there were no jobs, and they make a profit reducing the flow of things into the landfill. That's a great reason to get out of bed in the morning.” Hull and Williams have established expertise in circular economy entrepreneurship, especially when applied in developing nations to benefit the local economy and environment.   Hull has decades of experience working with entrepreneurs through RIT’s Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Venture Creations, and the aforementioned Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Competitive Sustainability Center. Williams was the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant to research international electronic waste, the results of which influenced the environmental standard for computers in the United States. In addition to the original grant from the State Department, the team has also received funding to help entrepreneurs in the Middle East form circular economy businesses. As part of the funding, the group will hold its third annual Symposium on Accelerating Science, Technology, and Circular Innovation in July 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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