UC Merced names graduation speakers

UC Merced has tapped two speakers, each the first in their families to graduate from college, to be part of the 11th commencement ceremony in May, the university announced Thursday.

Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree candidates will hear from Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Huerta and entrepreneur and engineer Dado Banatao during commencement ceremonies May 14-15.

“Like the majority of our students, Mr. Huerta and Mr. Banatao were the first in their families to graduate from college,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said in a news release. “After considerable hard work, both have enjoyed distinguished careers. At commencement, they will help inspire our next group of graduates as they leave to make their marks on the world.”

Huerta, who has worked in the private and public sectors, will address more than 650 candidates from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts during the May 14 ceremony.

As FAA administrator, Huerta is responsible for the safety and efficiency of the world’s largest aerospace system, overseeing the agency’s more than 47,000 employees and a budget of nearly $16 billion, according to the FAA’s website. He was nominated in 2012 to lead the FAA and was sworn in to the position in 2013. Huerta served as the FAA’s deputy administrator from 2010 to 2011.

He has held key transportation-related positions with Affiliated Computer Services and the Salt Lake Olympic Committee. He also served as executive director of the Port of San Francisco, as commissioner of New York City’s Department of Ports and in senior policy positions at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Huerta, 59, graduated from UC Riverside with a bachelor’s in political science. A native of Riverside, he earned a master’s in international relations from Princeton University.

Banatao, 69, pioneered the chip set and graphics acceleration architecture that can be found in every personal computer today and is “regarded as a Silicon Valley visionary,” according to his website. He will address about 450 candidates from the schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering during the May 15 ceremony.

Banatao is the managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital, which invests in semiconductor technology.

Prior to forming Tallwood, Banatao was a venture partner at the Mayfield Fund. He co-founded three technology startups: S3, Chips & Technologies and Mostron. He also held positions in engineering and management at National Semiconductor, Seeq Technologies, Intersil and Commodore International.

Originally from the Philippines, Banatao holds a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the Mapua Institute of Technology in the Philippines and a master’s in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

For more on the ceremonies, go to http://commencement.ucmerced.edu.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 4:11 PM with the headline "UC Merced names graduation speakers."