The Class of 2014 will hear from inventor, entrepreneur, and science and technology advocate Dean Kamen at SUNYIT’s May 10 commencement ceremony. Kamen, known for the Segway and hundreds of other inventions, and for founding the FIRST robotics organization, will deliver the keynote address at the ceremony, which will be held in the Wildcat Field House on the SUNYIT campus.

As an inventor, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. While still a college undergraduate, he invented the first wearable infusion pump, which rapidly gained acceptance from such diverse medical specialties as chemotherapy, neonatology, and endocrinology. Kamen is a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, in recognition of inventions that have advanced medical care worldwide, and for innovative and imaginative leadership in awakening America to the excitement of science and technology. He was also awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Among his proudest accomplishments is the founding of FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use and enjoy science and technology. The DaVinci Institute, which called him a “modern-day Edison,” noted that “Whenever Kamen introduces a new product, people take notice, and they eagerly anticipate the next one.”

All candidates who became eligible for graduation from August 2013 through the end of the current academic year have been invited to take part in the commencement ceremony. The event begins with a formal procession in SUNYIT’s Wildcat Field House  at 10 a.m. on May 10 and will be followed by a reception for graduates and guests in the Student Center. Commencement weekend also includes the annual academic awards banquet, which will be held in the Wildcat Field House on Friday, May 9. More information is available at www.sunyit.edu/commencement. 

SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, is New York’s public polytechnic, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in technology and professional studies. Its academic offerings in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies, and its programs in professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing, are complemented by athletics, recreational, cultural and campus life programs, events and activities. Founded in 1966, SUNYIT is a unique high-tech learning environment on hundreds of acres, offering degree programs online as well as on campus. The SUNYIT family of alumni now numbers 25,000.