Dean's Leadership Council

Dr. Krishna received his Ph.D. in computer engineering from Syracuse University in 2005. He spent 27 years at Intel Corporation, joining the company in 1995 as a CAD engineer. The VLSI CAD and software engineering course taught by Dr. Roger Chen, Dr. Shu-Chi Chin, Dr. Stabler, Dr. Oldfield, and Dr. Fawcett paved the way for his career. Starting in 1995 with the Pentium MMX project and continuing through Intel's Xeon processor lines, Dr. Krishna contributed to many of the company's microprocessor projects that helped drive the digitization of the world. 

In 2022, Dr. Krishna joined Ampere, a semiconductor design company specializing in central processing units engineered for cloud computing, hyperscale data centers, and sustainable AI inference workloads, where he currently serves as Vice President of Information Technology. He is an established digital transformation leader focused on large-scale operations that support high-performance microprocessor design. He is passionate about automation and building systems that let users self-serve and be productive. 

Outside of work, Dr. Krishna enjoys reading, tennis, hiking, and fitness. He recently started learning and practicing yoga. 

Favorite Syracuse University Memory: Student life, and being part of the Cinema Student Group, which screened movies before their release in theaters. 

For Syracuse, Dr. Krishna has been a member of the ECS Dean's Leadership Council since 2022 and assumed the role of Chair in October 2026. 

Muss is Vice President of Utility Strategy at CenterPoint Energy, a gas and electric utility that serves over six million customers in six states. In his role, Muss is responsible for setting the company’s direction for the future for its regulated businesses in collaboration with its stakeholders and in the context of the broader energy transition. Prior to joining CenterPoint Energy, Muss served as a management consultant to energy companies and stakeholders around the world, with a particular focus on North American utilities. Muss holds a BS in chemical engineering and a BA in international relations from Syracuse University and an MEng in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. He resides in Houston, TX with his family.

Justin Blount serves as Americas President for Praesidiad, a global perimeter security group headquartered in London that designs, manufactures, and supplies high-security protection and defensive infrastructure. Prior to joining the company in 2026, he was President and Chief Operating Officer for Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, a global leader in commercial laundry equipment. Earlier in his career, Justin held positions of increasing responsibility at ITW, Kohler Co., and DuPont, spanning engineering, operations, customer-facing, and business management roles across more than two decades. 

Justin is a native of Washington, D.C., where his love for family and giving back to the community began. His community activities include supporting groups like United Way, STEM-related initiatives, and Junior Achievement, with the goal of making a difference every day. He is a member of the United Way Fox Cities Board, Imagine Fox Cities Coordinating Committee, and Strong City’s Baltimore Adult Learning Center Board, and serves on the American Welding Society (AWS) Foundation Board. 

Justin graduated from Syracuse University in 1993 with a B.S. in chemical engineering from ECS, where he was the class marshal at graduation, and later earned an M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland. For Syracuse, Justin has been a member of the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council since 2020 and served as a judge for Invent@SU in 2021 and 2022. 

Favorite Syracuse University Memory: Being the class marshal during the ‘93 graduation. I was sad that my time at Syracuse was coming to an end, but proud of what I accomplished. 

John Chawner is the owner of Gibberish Consulting, a small consulting practice focused on business leadership, product marketing, and computational software. He co-founded Pointwise, a software firm involved in computational fluid dynamics, in Texas in 1994. The company’s software was used widely in the aerospace and defense market and was applied to many aircraft and spacecraft flying today. After leading the company for 26 years and growing it into an international enterprise, he negotiated its acquisition by Cadence Design Systems in Silicon Valley. John is now retired in Wisconsin, where he continues to share his experience in business leadership and technology through his consulting work. 

John is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a charter member and former leader of NASA’s CFD Vision 2030 integration committee. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1984 with a dual B.S. in aerospace and mechanical engineering, both from ECS, and earned an M.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1990. 

For Syracuse, John has served on the advisory board for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering since 2006, and joined the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council in 2024. He established an ECS endowed professorship in 2025 and served as the ECS Convocation speaker in the spring of 2026. 

Mr. Gerstenberg was named Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President
in March 2023, after serving for eight years as the Company's Chief
Operating Officer. From 2010 to 2015 Mr. Gerstenberg held positions of
increasing responsibility including President of the Environmental,
Industrial & Field Services business, Vice President of Disposal Services
and Executive Vice President, Environmental Services. In that role, he
oversaw Field Services, Technical Services, Disposal Facilities,
Transportation and Sales for the Environmental Group. Mr. Gersten berg
joined Clean Harbors in 1989, serving in a variety of positions including
General Manager of the Natick, Baltimore, and Chicago facilities. He
stepped away from the organization briefly in 1997, serving as Vice
President of Operations for privately owned Pollution Control Industries
before returning to Clean Harbors in 1999.

Bill Halpin holds the title of Distinguished Engineer at Moloco, a provider of AI-powered advertising solutions. Prior to joining the company in March 2026, he spent more than 15 years at Google, most recently leading the Gmail, Calendar, and Chat Intelligence engineering team. Earlier in his career, Bill worked at Synopsys as a principal engineer, and has also held positions at Synplicity, Intel, IBM, and GE. From 1987 to 1994, he was vice president of IQE, Inc., a company he founded as a student at Syracuse University. Bill is the author of 50 patents, numerous conference papers, and co-authored a book on algorithms for designing and implementing computer chips. 

Bill graduated from Syracuse University in 1988 with a B.S. in computer engineering from ECS and a B.A. in economics from A&S/Maxwell. He later earned an M.S. (1995) and a Ph.D. (2005), both in computer engineering from ECS. As a sophomore, Bill was elected undergraduate Student Government Comptroller, responsible for allocating SU’s student activity fees. 

Bill was the ECS Convocation Speaker in 2013 and gave the 2011 Newhouse Eric Mower Advertising Forum lecture on the nascent mobile advertising industry. For Syracuse, he has been a member of the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council since 2016 and the San Francisco Regional Council. He has also served as a host for the ECS Silicon Valley Immersion program and Syracuse University Mentors, and was previously a member of SU’s National Alumni Board. 

Favorite Syracuse Memories: Dr. Dan Pease’s operating systems class and Shantanu Ganguly’s microprocessor lab. 

Dr. Magari received undergraduate degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering, electrical engineering and his master’s degree and doctorate in aerospace engineering from Syracuse University. As a senior, he was selected as a Syracuse University Scholar and the most outstanding senior in the U.S. by the National Aerospace Engineering Honor Society. His graduate work at Syracuse focused on gas turbine heat transfer research involving the development of advanced thin-film heat transfer gauge arrays. After completing his doctorate, Patrick joined the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University as an NSF/NATO Fellow. While at Oxford, his areas of interest included the experimental study of boundary-layer transition at simulated gas turbine conditions and the development of advanced instrumentation for boundary layer transition detection including large arrays of miniature hot-film gauges, high‑frequency response pressure transducers, and liquid crystals. Patrick has worked at NASA Glenn Research Center performing gas turbine research, the German DLR flight testing aircraft, and JDR Systems developing fighter aircraft weapon delivery systems.

Currently, Patrick is a Principal Engineer and the President of Creare, an engineering research and development firm located in Hanover, NH. Creare develops a wide variety of advanced technology for commercial and government applications including spacecraft hardware used on the Mars Curiosity rover and the Hubble Space Telescope, laser-based manufacturing inspection tools used to construct the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) and advanced systems used for the launch and recovery of aircraft on Navy aircraft carriers. At Creare for 30 years, Patrick has led numerous projects ranging from small consulting efforts to large multimillion-dollar, multiyear development efforts. His work has included a broad spectrum of engineering analysis, prototype development, and testing. His general areas of interest include novel mechanical devices, instrumentation, bioengineering, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, turbomachinery, materials processing, and cryogenic systems.

His work has included advanced power systems for underwater vehicles; nuclear power systems for spacecraft; novel bubble detection and sizing instrumentation for characterizing decompression sickness in divers and astronauts; innovative gas separation systems for military, aerospace, industrial, and medical applications; and cryogenic refrigerators for use in large high-temperature superconducting motors, generators, power transmission systems, and magnets. He has published over 75 engineering research papers and has over 20 U.S. patents in addition to many international patents. Patrick has flown over 1500 parabolas on NASA microgravity aircraft testing spacecraft hardware and conducting basic science experiments associated with multiphase flow and the physiology of the human eye in microgravity.

Patrick lives on a rural 200-acre New Hampshire property in a 250-year-old house with his wife, two sons and two dogs. In his spare time, he has been building a new house high up on his property with his own hands for 20 years—It’s almost done! Patrick and his wife are avid downhill skiers and enjoy summer weekends on the water at their lake house on a nearby lake.

Favorite SU Memory:

My favorite SU memory is when Syracuse upset Nebraska, then ranked #1 in 1984.

Patrick Murphy is founder and CEO of Celersys Technologies, an aerospace technology consultancy delivering technology solutions and services to commercial clients, the Department of Defense and civilian agencies. Prior to Celersys Technologies, Murphy was the president and chief executive officer for Axient LLC, a high-end technology and engineering firm with over 2,000 employees. Prior to that position, Murphy served as Millennium Engineering and Integration’s chief executive officer and led the company through multiple years of substantial growth, culminating in a strategic sale of the company in 2021 to help form Axient.

In 2014, Murphy was awarded the Greater Washington GovCon Award for Executive of the Year for his leadership in industry-leading growth and corporate transformation. He served as the chief operating officer, vice president for Corporate Operations and Analysis, vice president for Space Systems, and director for Engineering at Millennium spanning over 20 years and helping grow that business to 900 employees nationwide. He served as the chief engineer for the Missile Defense Agency’s Advanced Technology Program Executive Office portfolio providing technical leadership for all new missile defense technologies and concepts. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University and a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University.

Murphy is a native upstate New Yorker and currently resides in Arlington, VA with his wife Linda and dog, Maisie. He bleeds Orange with two of his children graduating from Syracuse University and currently serves on the College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean’s Leadership Council and the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department’s Advisory Board. He is lifelong learner and self-proclaimed geek with hobbies in pinball machine restoration, microprocessor programming, electrical device development, golfing and boating.

Tony Papantonis is the founder and president of Nauset Construction Corporation, a full-service construction company providing pre-construction, construction management, design-build, and general contracting services throughout New England. Prior to founding Nauset in 2004, he spent more than eight years as a project executive at Suffolk Construction and nine years as a project manager at Perini Construction. He currently serves as chair of Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston’s board of directors. Tony graduated from Syracuse University in 1985 with a B.S. in civil engineering from ECS, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, and later earned an MBA from Suffolk University in 1995. He joined the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council in 2026 and serves as president of the Boston Regional Council. His wife, Kristine “Kris” Papantonis (‘87, A&S), previously served on Syracuse’s Parents Council, and the couple established the Papantonis Family Endowed Scholarship to support undergraduate students. Tony and Kris have two Syracuse graduate children, Nicholas (‘17, Newhouse) and Athena (‘22, Falk).

Rina Raman is retired from a career as a prominent technology executive. Most recently, she spent nearly a decade at Intel Corporation, serving as vice president and general manager of the Embedded Acceleration Division, where she led a global team of system solutions engineering and business units focused on Intel’s field-programmable gate array (FPGA) business across industries including industrial, automotive, military, aerospace, broadcast, video and vision, test and measurement, consumer and medical, artificial intelligence, and edge computing. 

Rina joined Intel in 2017, leading the Customer Experience Organization responsible for digital, partner, and solutions teams, as well as regional applications, factory applications, and technical program management. Prior to Intel, she led the applications and customer engineering team at the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center. She also spent 16 years in leadership positions at Xilinx Corporation, culminating in her role as senior director of applications engineering and technical marketing, where she was responsible for intellectual property and FPGA silicon technical marketing for the entire corporation. Earlier in her career, Rina spent more than a decade in circuit design, including leadership roles at Quick Logic Corporation and Altera Corporation. She holds more than a dozen patents in circuit design. 

Rina graduated from Syracuse University in 1987 with a B.S. in electrical engineering. She has served as a founding member of the industrial advisory board for the computer engineering program at California Polytechnic State University since 2003, including as the board’s chair and vice chair. In 2005, the YWCA Silicon Valley chapter honored her with a Tribute to Women and Industry Award. For Syracuse, she has been a member of the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council since 2023. 

Rajesh A. Rao earned a master’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Syracuse University. Currently serving as a Partner and Principal at EY, Rajesh leads the Americas Supply Chain and Global Sustainability initiatives, specializing in transforming the supply chain and operations of TMT and CPG Retail companies. His expertise encompasses business and operations strategy, digital transformation, and sustainability in supply chains.

With over two decades of experience, Rajesh has held significant leadership roles, including Senior Partner at IBM Global Business Services, where he was instrumental in leveraging digital technologies to transform business operations and IT platforms. Before his tenure at IBM, he was a Director at i2 Technologies, driving strategic transformation in technology and manufacturing industries.

Rajesh’s commitment to excellence is further evidenced by his continuous pursuit of knowledge, evidenced by his completion of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the Advanced Finance Program at The Wharton School. He is also actively involved in giving back to the community, serving as a Board Member for the Safety Club – Sahas Foundation.

As a thought leader and a dedicated Syracuse alumnus, Rajesh embodies the spirit of innovation and service. We are proud to nominate him to the Dean’s Advisory Council, confident that his insights and experiences will greatly contribute to our mission of advancing engineering and computer science education and research.

Tish Rourke serves as vice president and general manager of maritime systems at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, overseeing a portfolio that supports the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and international partners. She has been with Lockheed Martin for more than 35 years and has held leadership roles in engineering, program management, and business development, building a track record of leading complex programs across Radar, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Mine Warfare, Electronic Warfare/RF, Cyber, and Intelligence Systems, and building and retaining high-performing teams along the way. In September 2025, Tish was appointed to the Coast Guard Foundation’s Board of Trustees for a three-year term. 

She graduated from Syracuse University with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1987 and an M.S. in electrical engineering in 1994, both from ECS, and has also completed executive programs at Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley. For Syracuse, she joined the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council in 2022 and was the ECS Convocation speaker in the spring of 2025. Tish served on the Central New York Alumni Association Board from 2001 to 2004. 

Favorite Syracuse University Memory: The many nights doing homework in the Carnegie Reading Room. 

Matt Sheridan is a seasoned engineer and technology leader with a passion for innovation and community service. He holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Rhode Island. With over two decades of experience at PTC, Matt worked on cutting-edge solutions for discrete manufacturers, collaborating with industry giants like Lockheed Martin, NASA, and AGCO. His expertise in systems engineering, CAD, IoT, and Augmented Reality helped these companies streamline their product development processes.

Sharing his insights, Matt authored “Excellence in Sales Engineering,” a valuable resource for professionals in the field. Currently, he serves as a Senior Director of Solution Engineering at Bentley Systems, a global leader in infrastructure software. Beyond his professional pursuits, Matt is deeply committed to his community. He is an active board member of Better Lives RI, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating hunger and homelessness.

Matt and his wife, Kelly, have been happily married for 28 years. They met at Syracuse University, where their daughter, Emma, graduated from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Their younger daughter, Claire, is currently studying Biomechanical Engineering at Clemson University. A proud Syracuse alumni and proud Clemson Dad, Matt wears a lot of orange!

Sameer Singla has served as chief executive officer of the Packaging Technologies division at Archroma, a global leader in specialty chemicals for sustainable solutions, since October 2024. He joined the company in March 2022 as president of its North American operations before being promoted to divisional president and CEO of Archroma’s Paper, Packaging & Coatings business, as well as president of the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Prior to Archroma, Sameer was chief commercial officer at Aristech Surfaces, one of the world’s largest continuous cast sheet manufacturers, and has held leadership positions at SABIC, Ashland Inc., Valvoline, and Chemtex. He is also the owner and director of Saurav Chemicals Limited, a family business in northern India that manufactures pharmaceutical ingredients, and serves on the board of directors for Revayu Energy. Sameer graduated from Syracuse University in 1995 with a B.S. in chemical engineering from ECS, earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina in 2000, and completed Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management program in 2023. He joined the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council in 2026. His wife, Toria Singla, is also a Syracuse graduate (‘96).

My parents immigrated to the US in the early 60’s so that their then unborn children could have the opportunity for a better life. They knew that opportunity began with education. That led me to Syracuse University, and I will always be grateful for that.

I received my BS in electrical engineering from Syracuse in 1989. Since then, I have gone on to complete four master’s degrees (computer science, MBA, organizational psychology, and organizational leadership) and have spent most of my career in the software industry. My focus is on helping customers improve their business through the use of technology. I enjoy giving back to my community and supporting my alma mater as much as I can.

In addition to my role on the DLC, I am a member of the Syracuse University Los Angeles Regional Council, I participate in admitted student events and support ECS by judging Launchpad events, conducting mock interviews, and providing mentorship to current and new ESC students.

I am also very proud to have established a scholarship in my parent’s name for ECS students. It is my hope that this scholarship will enable students to complete their studies and then go out and do something great in their community.

In my spare time I enjoy reading, studying history and leaders, and collecting old comic books. I have a collection of over 7,000 books dating back over 60 years. I also study and teach karate, which I began during my senior year at SU as a gym class.

Remember, Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it.

Favorite SU Memory:

Beating Georgetown in the Dome surrounded by my friends.

Ed Swallow is the founder of Pegasus Strategic Advisors LLC, which he established in January 2026 following his retirement from The Aerospace Corporation. In his role at Pegasus, he advises C-suite executives on financial and operational strategy and how to navigate complex stakeholder environments, particularly in space, defense, and national security. Ed previously spent 10 years at The Aerospace Corporation, concluding his tenure as senior vice president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and treasurer. Earlier in his career, he was chairman of the STEM Workforce Division for the National Defense Industrial Association, vice president of business development for federal and defense technologies at Northrop Grumman, director of admission liaison officers at the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and a captain in the U.S. Air Force. Ed graduated from Syracuse University in 1980 with a B.S. in electrical engineering from ECS, and later earned an M.S. in systems management from the University of Southern California. He has been a member of the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council since 2022. 

Priscilla Tyree Williams, P.E., is the City Construction Projects Administrator for the City of Raleigh.  She is responsible for the implementation of the City’s capital improvement program for all departments except Raleigh Water.  The Construction Management Division team includes architects and engineers who provide cradle-to-grave project development and management of vertical projects from the identification of building program needs through construction including the one-year post-construction warranty period.  Vertical projects under her responsibility include fire stations, office buildings, community centers, and Raleigh’s new city hall, a 420,000 SF, 20-story tower anticipated to be completed in 2026.  She earned a BS in civil engineering from Syracuse University and is a licensed professional engineer.  She also holds a MS in leadership and organizational change from Pfeiffer University.

Her community service affiliations include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Sigma Tau Omega Chapter and Amanah AME Zion Church. She volunteers her time with the Ivy Community Service Foundation of Cary, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer – Executive Leadership Committee and English as a Second Language.  She enjoys arts activities and has served on boards for various arts organizations.  She lives in Raleigh with her husband, Melvin.

Favorite SU Memory:

My favorite memory at SU was when the Senior Class finished its planning project presentation in Link Hall and went to the new Sheraton Hotel on campus to celebrate.

Teddy Vagias works for the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., where he helps establish new embassies overseas. He was previously the founder and chief executive officer of Mason Harriman Group, a management and information technology consulting firm. Before founding the company in 2001, Teddy held IT executive roles at France Telecom/Equant, Bausch & Lomb, Reynolds & Reynolds, and AT&T Bell Labs. He currently serves on the board of trustees of The Leonidas Foundation, established in memory of his late son, Leonidas “Leo” Vagias. Through the foundation’s L.E.O. program (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Opportunity), high school students gain mentorship, leadership training, and real-world business experience. Teddy is also a board member of the Lafayette Federal Credit Union. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1987 with a B.S. in computer engineering from ECS, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and participated in cheerleading, and later earned an M.S. in telecommunications management from Stevens Institute of Technology. He joined the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council in 2026.

Eugene Zhang is a Founding Partner of TSVC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm  focused on building and scaling early-stage technology startups. Eugene’s investment focus is emerging technologies and FinTech, and he has led investments in over 70 startups including ZOOM, Quanergy, Lex Machina, Trusper, TrustGo, Carta, Gingko Bioworks, Gaatu, EquityZen, 17Zuoye and GigaDevice. He has also served on multiple boards including Gaatu and Tsing Hua Entrepreneur & Executive Club (TEEC).

Eugene has been working in the networking and computing industry for more than a decade in technical and management positions. As a member of the SMP server project at SUN Microsystem, he co-invented the industry’s first hardware testbench language, Vera, which is a part of today’s industry standard SystemVerilog.

Prior to TSVC, Eugene was the founder and CEO of Innospring, a global cross-border technology startup incubator. In 2002, Eugene founded JEDA Technologies, Inc., serving as President and CEO. JEDA specializes in next-generation system on a chip (SoC) design methodologies and provides electronic system level (ESL) verification automation products for leading edge SoC design companies.

Eugene holds a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University, and bachelor’s degree and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing.