Lisa Su will return to MIT this May as the Class of 2026's commencement speaker — a homecoming of sorts for someone whose three degrees from the institute shaped everything that followed.
Su is the chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a company she joined in 2012 and transformed into a global leader in AI computing. Her chips power some of the world's fastest supercomputers. TIME named her CEO of the Year in 2024, and she's one of roughly 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs who are women.
But the MIT connection runs deeper than resume credentials. Born in Taiwan and raised in Queens, Su earned her bachelor's, master's, and PhD in electrical engineering from MIT. During her doctoral work, she created instructions that guided generations of student researchers through the institute's most advanced equipment — the kind of hands-on mentorship that defined her MIT experience. She's served on the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Visiting Committee for a decade, spoke at the 2017 doctoral hooding ceremony, and in 2018 established a fellowship fund in her name. In 2022, MIT.nano's building was named in her honor.
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Start Your News Detox"Long before she led the spectacular turnaround of AMD, Lisa Su was an MIT student who inspired and mentored her classmates," MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement. "She's renowned for her intellectual rigor, boldness, and originality."
Su has described artificial intelligence as the most transformational technology of our time — a fitting perspective for someone whose company is designing the specialized hardware that makes AI applications possible. The Class of 2026 will graduate into a world already shaped by that transformation, which is likely why Su saw the timing as meaningful.
"MIT has always held a special place in my life and career," Su said. "The Class of 2026 will be graduating at an exciting time, as AI transforms our world and expands what is possible."
The commencement ceremony takes place Thursday, May 28, 2026. Su joins recent speakers including science communicator Hank Green, inventor Mark Rober, and retired Navy admiral William McRaven — a lineup that reflects MIT's interest in bringing people who've moved between worlds: research and public communication, engineering and entrepreneurship, military service and civilian leadership.
