St. Thomas Aquinas College is proud to announce its new STEM Advisory Board composed of current students, alumni, faculty, and recognized industry leaders. The STEM Advisory Board will help further the advancement of the “STEM @ STAC” offerings.
STAC’s School of STEM, launched last year on Earth Day, provides an engaging, multi-disciplinary, experiential education that cultivates curiosity and critical thinking across a diverse portfolio of majors including biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, exercise science, forensic science, mathematics, medical technology and physics. The School of STEM has numerous partnerships with prestigious institutions for students to continue their studies upon graduation.
As part of the growth of our new School of STEM, we acknowledge the critical importance of framing the academic experience within the context of real-world experience and opportunity. Therefore, we have assembled an advisory board of leading STEM industry professionals who will provide insight into industry best practices, as well as market needs and trends. These insights will serve to guide academic program and curriculum development in the School of STEM. Additionally, the Board will serve as an incubator for transformative opportunities such as career partnerships, experiential learning programs, sponsorship of new initiatives within the School, grant writing and funding, mentorship, and networking.
STEM Advisory Board Members include:
- Robert Catell, Chair - Chairman, Advanced Energy Research & Technology Center and National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium, Former Chairman and CEO, KeySpan
- Steve Bjornson - VP & COO of Vaccine Research & Development at Pfizer
- Orville Cocking - VP of Operations at Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc.
- Lugduni Desrosiers '20 - St. Thomas Aquinas College Alumnus, Software Engineer at Google
- Hasan Dewan - CIO of Our Crowd, St. Thomas Aquinas College Board of Trustees
- Jason Doling - VP of Communities and Partnerships at New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Thomas Flood - VP of Institutional Advancement at St. Thomas Aquinas College
- Rob Hornberger '20 - Alumnus, Medical Student at Rowan University
- Andrew Lee - Faculty Representative, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at St. Thomas Aquinas College
- David Manning - Director of Stakeholder Relations/External Affairs at Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Maureen Mulhern - Director of Career Development at St. Thomas Aquinas College
- Carlos Nouel - VP of Transformation Programs, National Grid
- John Park - Director of Laboratory Services at The Valley Hospital
- Joe Riggio - Founder and President of Varsity House Gym
- Yacov Shamash - Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Stony Brook University
- Jennifer Stevens - Current Student Representative - Class of 2024 majoring in Forensic Science, Lacrosse Player, Honors Program Member at St. Thomas Aquinas College
- Margie Turrin - Director of Educational Field Programs at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
- Bianca Wentzell - Dean of the School of STEM, Assistant Professor of Biology at St. Thomas Aquinas College
