And RIT’s Class of 2020 will hear from former Peace Corps director Jody Olsen Elena Zhukova/University of California Andrea Ghez, a 2020 Nobel Prize winner in physics for her work with black holes, will be the 2021 Rochester Institute of Technology commencement speaker on May 14 and 15. Andrea Ghez, a 2020 Nobel Prize winner in physics for her research in discovering one of the most exotic phenomena in the universe—the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy—will be the 2021 Rochester Institute of Technology commencement speaker on May 14 and 15. Approximately 3,000 RIT undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students in the Class of 2021 are expected to graduate this year. COVID-19 protocols mandate that the number of people attending commencement be limited, so 13 smaller in-person ceremonies by college are planned to allow qualified students to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. Most speakers will be virtual, and each ceremony will be live-streamed.