The Best Advice That an IBM Innovator Gave UAlbany Students

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 13, 2025) — Longtime IBM innovator Nick Donofrio spoke directly to University at Albany students throughout his Bunshaft Lecture, particularly in its closing minutes.

That’s when he picked up a piece of paper with questions that students and others had asked in advance. His answers were clear, frank and informed by his 44 years at IBM. Yes, he worked in a different era, but his advice was timeless and from the heart.

Donofrio, an electrical engineer who rose to executive vice president of innovation and technology at IBM before retiring in 2008, was the guest of UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), which presents the Bunshaft Lecture. The event is endowed by alumni Al Bunshaft ’80 and Caryn Bunshaft ’82 and informs students about careers in computing and engineering.

About 450 students, professors, staffers and alumni packed the Main Theatre at the University’s Performing Arts Center to hear Donofrio speak, including the Bunshafts, who have known Donofrio since the 1980s, when Al was a young engineer at IBM. Here are the five best pieces of advice he offered to budding engineers and computer scientists.

Embrace change. It’s a constant and requires you to adapt, noted Donofrio, who experienced 15 orders of magnitude change in his decades at IBM. “Do not ever let yourself become complacent,” he added. That said, he doesn’t endorse wholesale change. “You decide what to change and what not to change when change is afoot. You get that? That’s how you become a real leader: when you stand up for what matters.” 

Keep learning. To be a leader, you don’t need to know how to do everything, Donofrio said. You do, however, need to understand what people outside of your expertise are doing, he added. That will enable you to have an informed opinion. Besides, Donofrio said, “Going forward, all of us are going to be judged less by what we know and more by what we do about what we don’t know.” 

Own your mistakes. If you’re forthright, you can manage a crisis, according to Donofrio. It’s also relatable to those who work with you. 

Work hard. That applies equally to interns and leaders, the former IBM EVP pointed out. He inherited that quality from his father, who worked three jobs, and his mother, who raised four children while stitching hats at home in Beacon, N.Y. His father pushed him to do more even while Nick worked two jobs and succeeded academically. When he asked why, his father said, “I don’t want you to be like me. I don’t want you to be what I am. I want you to be your best,” adding, “If nothing changes, son, nothing changes.” 

Solve problems. That’s how Donofrio distinguished himself and advanced in his career. “I drove myself with a simple mantra: ‘Give me the next hardest problem,’” Donofrio said. More concisely, he added: “Start with the problem as opposed to the answer.”

CNSE, one of nine academic schools and colleges at UAlbany, offers degrees in computer science, electrical & computer engineering, environmental & sustainable engineering and nanoscale science & engineering. For more details, please visit CNSE’s homepage.