RIT to recognize five distinguished global leaders and innovators during its 2026 commencement celebration

Rochester, New York – When the class of 2026 gathers to celebrate one of the most meaningful moments of their academic journey, the spotlight at Rochester Institute of Technology will extend beyond the graduates themselves. During the university’s commencement ceremony scheduled for Friday, May 8, five internationally respected figures from fields ranging from space exploration and theoretical physics to literature, acting, and global economic development will receive honorary degrees.

The honorees will be recognized in front of more than 5,000 graduating students, along with their families, friends, and members of the university community. Graduates from RIT’s international campuses will also be included in the celebration, underscoring the global reach of the institution and the diverse paths its students pursue.

Each of the five individuals being honored has left a significant mark on their respective fields. Their accomplishments—spanning science, arts, education, and international business—reflect the values the university hopes to inspire in its graduating class.

A trailblazing astronaut and educator

Among the most widely recognized honorees is Mae Jemison, a physician, educator, and former astronaut with NASA. She will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree and will also deliver the keynote address at the university’s Academic Convocation ceremony.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. on May 8 inside the Gordon Field House and Activities Center, where thousands of graduates and guests will gather to mark the culmination of years of study and dedication.

Jemison made history in 1992 when she traveled into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during mission STS 47. Serving as a mission specialist, she conducted scientific experiments in orbit that took advantage of the microgravity environment, where objects appear weightless.

Her journey into space represented a milestone not only in aerospace history but also in social progress, as she became the first woman of color to travel into space.

Before reaching orbit, Jemison had already built an impressive academic and professional foundation. She earned degrees in chemical engineering and African American studies from Stanford University before continuing her education at Cornell University, where she received a medical degree.

Her career path then led her to humanitarian work through the Peace Corps. As a medical officer serving in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Jemison was responsible for overseeing the health of U.S. volunteers, embassy staff, and other personnel across the region.

Following her time with NASA, she continued to pursue initiatives aimed at expanding education and innovation. Jemison launched The Earth We Share, an international science camp designed to encourage young people to explore scientific questions and global challenges.

She also served as an environmental studies professor at Dartmouth College, where her teaching and research focused on designing technologies that support sustainability both in industrialized nations and in developing parts of the world.

Beyond academia, Jemison founded the consulting company Jemison Group Inc., which explores ways space science and advanced technologies can improve everyday life on Earth. She also established the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, an organization dedicated to expanding STEM education opportunities for students.

Celebrating a distinguished scholar and alumna

Another honorary degree will be awarded to Katherine Hayles, an RIT alumna whose career has bridged the worlds of literature, science, and digital technology.

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Hayles, who graduated from RIT in 1966 with a degree in chemistry, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree. She will also deliver the keynote address during the university’s doctoral hooding ceremony, which will take place the same day.

Today she serves as a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California Los Angeles and is also the James B. Duke Professor Emerita from Duke University.

Her research explores the evolving relationship between literature, scientific discovery, and technological change in the modern world. Through a career spanning decades, Hayles has examined how emerging digital technologies reshape the ways humans think, communicate, and understand knowledge.

She has authored twelve books and more than one hundred peer-reviewed academic articles. Among her works are Bacteria to AI: Human Futures with our Nonhuman Symbionts, Postprint: Books and Becoming Computational, and How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis.

Several of her books have earned major awards in literary theory and interdisciplinary scholarship. One of her best-known works, How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Literature, Cybernetics and Informatics, received the Rene Wellek Award for the best book in literary theory.

Her book Writing Machines was also honored with the Suzanne Langer Award.

Over the years, Hayles has been awarded multiple prestigious fellowships, including two from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Residential Fellowship at Bellagio, and two University of California Presidential Research Fellowships.

In addition to her undergraduate degree from RIT, Hayles pursued advanced studies in both science and literature. She earned a master’s degree in chemistry from California Institute of Technology, followed by a master’s degree and Ph.D. in English literature from Michigan State University and the University of Rochester.

Her achievements were previously recognized by her alma mater when she was inducted into RIT’s Innovation Hall of Fame in 2010.

Honoring a groundbreaking actor

The 2026 commencement will also recognize Troy Kotsur, an Academy Award-winning actor whose work has brought powerful representation to the Deaf community.

Kotsur, who will receive an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree, has spent more than two decades performing on stage and screen. Born deaf, he has built a career defined by determination, creativity, and groundbreaking achievements.

In 2022 he earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film CODA. The historic win made him the first Deaf male actor ever to receive an Oscar.

His performance in the film was widely praised by audiences and critics alike. The role also brought him a number of other major honors, including a BAFTA Award, a Critics Choice Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Before his Hollywood breakthrough, Kotsur had already built a respected career across theater and television. He appeared in the Broadway production of the Tony Award-winning play Big River and held roles in popular television series such as Criminal Minds, CSI New York, and The Mandalorian.

He has also been a longtime member of Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles, a company known for producing performances that integrate American Sign Language and spoken language.

Earlier in his career, Kotsur was connected to RIT through the National Technical Institute for the Deaf’s traveling performance troupe Sunshine Too.

As part of the 2026 commencement celebrations, Kotsur will return to address graduates of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf during their ceremony on May 9.

A physicist who helped confirm Einstein’s predictions

Another honoree is Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist whose research helped open a new window into the universe.

Thorne will receive an Honorary Doctor of Science degree in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to astrophysics and gravitational science.

For more than four decades, he served as a professor at California Institute of Technology, where he led a research group focused on relativistic astrophysics and gravitational physics. His work explored phenomena such as relativistic stars, black holes, and gravitational waves.

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Throughout his academic career, Thorne mentored generations of scientists. Under his guidance, 53 students earned doctoral degrees, while dozens of postdoctoral researchers collaborated with him on advanced theoretical studies.

One of his most influential accomplishments was helping to establish the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, commonly known as LIGO.

In 2015, the observatory made a historic discovery by detecting gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime predicted by Albert Einstein nearly a century earlier. The finding confirmed a major prediction of Einstein’s theory of relativity and opened an entirely new field of astronomy.

For that breakthrough, Thorne shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Beyond his scientific research, Thorne has also contributed to public understanding of physics through writing and collaboration with the arts. His books include Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy and the textbook Modern Classical Physics.

More recently, he co-created The Warped Side of our Universe, a book blending poetry with paintings by artist Lia Halloran.

Thorne also worked with filmmaker Christopher Nolan as an executive producer and scientific adviser on the 2014 film Interstellar, ensuring that the movie’s depiction of black holes and space travel reflected accurate physics.

A leader shaping global economic zones

The final honoree is Mohammed Al Zarooni, a prominent figure in global economic development.

Al Zarooni will receive an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree in recognition of his leadership in building and expanding international free economic zones.

He currently serves as executive chairman of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority and is also a member of the board of directors of RIT Dubai.

With more than three decades of experience in economic zone development, Al Zarooni has played a major role in shaping business infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates and beyond.

In 2021 he was appointed executive chairman of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, an organization that oversees three major economic hubs: the Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai Silicon Oasis, and Dubai CommerCity.

Earlier in his career, Al Zarooni served as director-general of the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority beginning in 2000. Under his leadership, the zone quickly developed into one of the world’s most successful business districts dedicated to international trade and innovation.

In 2002, the government of Dubai appointed him vice chairman and CEO of the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, helping transform the area into one of the region’s most advanced technology hubs.

Al Zarooni also played a central role in establishing the World Free Zones Organization in 2014, a nonprofit multilateral organization that connects free zones across the globe.

He currently serves as secretary-general of the Dubai Free Zone Council and holds positions on several boards, including Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and the Emirati Human Resources Development Council. He also chairs the board of the e-commerce platform Tradeling.

Al Zarooni earned a doctoral degree from the Durham University in the United Kingdom.

A celebration of influence and inspiration

As RIT prepares to celebrate the achievements of thousands of graduates, university leaders say honoring these five individuals reflects the institution’s commitment to recognizing excellence across disciplines.

From the vastness of space exploration to the complexity of theoretical physics, from groundbreaking performances in film to innovative scholarship and global economic leadership, each honoree represents a different path toward meaningful impact.

For graduates stepping into the next stage of their lives, the stories of these leaders offer powerful examples of how curiosity, dedication, and creativity can shape careers—and, in some cases, change the world.