Syracuse University

’71 M.S. - L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science
'11 - Honorary Degree

Nicholas M. Donofrio, a 44-year IBM veteran, serves as an IBM fellow emeritus, the company’s highest technical honor. From 1997 until his retirement in October 2008, he served as executive vice president of Innovation and Technology. In addition to his most recent role, he served in a variety of capacities, including vice chairman of the IBM International Foundation and chairman of the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology.

Throughout his career, Donofrio has received numerous awards, including two IBM Invention Achievement Awards, two IBM Outstanding Innovation Awards, CNBC’s Overall Technology Leadership Award in 2005; and in 2008, the Excellence in Leadership Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration's Gold Medal. He was also the 2003 recipient of the coveted Society of Women Engineers’ Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award.  In addition, Donofrio holds seven technology patents, is a member of numerous technical and science honor societies, and holds several board positions.

Donofrio is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a senior fellow at the Kauffman Foundation, a fellow of the UK-based Royal Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  He is also the co-chair of the New York Hall of Science, a board member of the MITRE Corporation, a member of the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board, a member of the U.S. based National Academy of Engineering, a member of the board of directors for the Bank of New York/Mellon, a member of the Republic of China’s Advisory Board of Science and Technology, a member of the board of trustees at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a member of the board of directors of Liberty Mutual; AMD; and Delphi Corporation.

An advocate for advancing education, employment, and career opportunities for minorities and women, Mr. Donofrio served for many years on the board of directors for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering and was board chair from 1997 to 2002.  In 2005, he was appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to serve on the Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

He holds a master's degree and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, respectively. He has received honorary doctorates from Marist College, Pace University, Polytechnic University, Syracuse University, and the University of Warwick, UK, the University of Edinburgh, UK and the National University of Ireland at Maynooth.

For Syracuse University, Donofrio has returned to campus as a guest lecturer and served as a key corporate liaison between Syracuse University and IBM. Donofrio received the George Arents Pioneer Medal for Technology Innovation in 2005.