Meet the Candidates for 2027 President-Elect (2028 President)
All Candidate Names are listed in Random Order.
The opinions expressed in the statements are those of the individual candidates and do not necessarily reflect Computer Society positions or policies.
Terry Benzel
Position statement
The role of computing in society is at a major inflection point. Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and pervasive digital technologies are transforming how we live, work, and connect. This moment presents an opportunity for the IEEE Computer Society to expand its impact beyond its traditional strengths, accelerating our progress toward applying technology to improve global conditions.
Throughout my career, I have worked at the intersection of research, technology, and organizational leadership. As a research leader, IEEE Fellow, former industry executive, advisor to emerging technology companies, and current Computer Society Vice President, I have learned that meaningful progress comes from bringing people together around shared goals and then executing effectively. If elected, I will focus on strengthening trust in computing, developing future leaders, building stronger connections among academia, industry, and government, and helping the Society thrive in the AI era.
Trust is the foundation of our profession. As Vice President and Chair of the Computer Society’s Ethics and Integrity initiative and the Computer Society representative to the CRA CLEAR Task Force, I have seen how rapidly evolving technologies, particularly AI, are challenging traditional approaches to publications, conferences, and research practice. We must provide practical guidance, consistent processes, and effective tools that help our volunteers uphold the highest standards while maintaining a culture of innovation and openness.
Our future depends on attracting, developing, and retaining the next generation of computing leaders. Students and young professionals should view the Computer Society as a place to learn, contribute, build community networks, and grow into leadership roles. The Computer Society has been part of my journey since graduate school. I am committed to broadening participation by creating pathways for members from all regions, backgrounds, and career stages to contribute, lead, and succeed.
The Computer Society is uniquely positioned to connect research, industry, and society. I have spent my career bringing diverse communities together to solve important problems. I will strengthen partnerships that translate technical advances into real-world impact and foster engagement among practitioners, technology leaders, researchers, and organizations.
As AI reshapes research, education, and professional practice, our challenge is helping people and organizations adapt effectively. The Computer Society can play a leading role by providing practical guidance, fostering collaboration, and sharing best practices that help members succeed while ensuring advances in computing continue to benefit humanity.
Together, we can build a Computer Society that is trusted, innovative, inclusive, and essential to computing professionals worldwide.
Biography
Terry Benzel is Managing Director of the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) at the University of Southern California and an IEEE Fellow recognized for leadership in cybersecurity experimentation. ISI is a world-renowned research organization in computing and communications technologies.
Previously, she served as Director of Networking and Cybersecurity Research at ISI, leading more than 70 researchers, faculty, students, and staff. She established and led the DETER Cybersecurity Testbed and Experimentation program, helping advance open research infrastructure for the research community.
Benzel has held leadership positions across academia, government laboratories, startups, and industry. She has led organizations of up to 150 people, managed budgets exceeding $80 million, and serves on advisory boards.
A long-time IEEE Computer Society volunteer, Benzel has contributed through conferences, publications, technical communities, governance, and strategic initiatives. She served in roles in the Security and Privacy community before being elected to two terms on the Board of Governors. She currently serves as IEEE Computer Society Vice President, represents the Society on the multi-society CLEAR (Community-Led Ethics for Accountability in Research) Task Force, and leads the Society’s Ethics and Integrity initiative. Previously, she served as Vice President for Technical and Conference Activities, Treasurer for Technical and Conference Activities, Chair of the Publications Board Integrity Committee, Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Broadening Participation in Nominations, and IEEE Computer Society representative to IEEE Future Directions.
An IEEE Fellow, Benzel has received IEEE Computer Society honors, including the Golden Core Award, Outstanding Service Award, Outstanding Community Service Award, and Continuing Service Award. Her work was recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and she has testified before the U.S. Congress.
Benzel holds an Executive MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Boston University. See: https://www.isi.edu/directory/terry-benzel/
Saurabh Bagchi
Position statement
IEEE Computer Society (CS) stands at an inflection point, poised not just to disseminate technical knowledge, but also to be a beacon showing our society the path forward. My two terms on the CS Board of Governors, along with my current leadership of two Society-wide programs—CS Juniors and the Global Student Challenge—have prepared me to lead CS toward a future in which we shape computing technology as a powerful force for serving humanity.
Academia-Industry-Government Collaboration: While on the Board of Governors, I led a successful effort to make CS the locus for academia-industry-government collaboration. CS is uniquely positioned to catalyze such collaboration, but too often, we have missed this calling. I will change this through focused programs: (i) joint ventures in roadmapping technology sectors, (ii) standards development to ensure interoperability and security, (iii) joint prototype creation, and (iv) student challenge competitions that will create effective talent pipelines.
Elevate Society Members: CS must proactively nurture students and young professionals (SYP) to become leaders. Currently leading the CS Juniors and the Global Student Challenge, I have a deep appreciation for the role of SYP. I will streamline our operations and create clear pathways for our global members, far beyond our boardrooms, to contribute to, and then lead, important programs.
Independent Voice in Technology Policy: I will energize IEEE CS to become more of a trusted independent voice in technology matters. Policymakers struggle to keep pace with technological changes, leaving them reliant on biased lobbyists. We will create standing, rapid-response task forces of domain experts who can translate complex research into accessible policy briefs. We will train our members to amplify their impact through path-defining technical contributions and through greater cooperation with other societies (ACM, IFIP), policymakers, and standards bodies (NIST, IETF, ISO).
Efficient Operation: I will make CS agile and cost-efficient in initiating and sustaining activities worldwide. I will lead through local member-driven events, tapping into the vast passion of members to contribute, if provided the proper support and recognition. Throughout, I will make these events broadly accessible across financial and geographical lines.
This moment of opportunity excites me. Drawing on my leadership experience across IEEE, ACM, and IFIP, as well as my passion and discipline, I am committed to making the Society a deeply rewarding professional home for its members and a powerful, enduring force for good in the broader world.
For more, see: https://bagchi.github.io/ieee.html
Biography
Saurabh Bagchi is a Professor at Purdue University, USA and Chair of its Computer Engineering Division. He is the Co-Founder of a cloud computing startup KeyByte (2022-present) and previously successfully co-founded SensorHound Innovations (2013). His research contributions lie in reliable and secure computing and he is the highest-cited author in his field of “Dependable Computing.”
Impact through Professional Society Leadership: Saurabh has chaired the IEEE CS Student Challenge Competition since 2021. The competitions provide a platform for students worldwide to create innovative solutions to real-world data-analytic problems, posed by academia-industry teams. He also chairs the IEEE CS Juniors Program, started in 2024 to inspire K-12 students to explore computing activities. It has already successfully organized hands-on workshops across the world: Baltimore (USA), Brazil, India, and Kenya, among many others. During Saurabh’s two terms on the CS Board of Governors (2017-20, 2022-24), he led several successful programs related to member recognition and academia-government-industry collaboration for which he was presented the CS Golden Core Award.
Impact through Research: Recognized as an intellectual leader in the CS community, Saurabh’s work has received 13 best paper awards and two Test-of-Time awards, and he has chaired 10+ leading systems and dependability conferences of IEEE/ACM/USENIX. He leads the externally funded NSF CHORUS Center and Army Research Lab’s A2I2 Institute, which are consortia of 10+ academic-industry partners. He is a Fellow of IET (2022) and AAIS/AAIA (2025), a nominated IFIP delegate (2020), IEEE CS Distinguished Contributor (2021), an ACM Distinguished Scientist (2013), and a Humboldt Fellow (2018).
On a personal level, he maintains strong connections to his birth land, India, serving as International Visiting Faculty at IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bombay. He has been a 20+ year volunteer with Asha for Education, a non-profit that has been supporting basic education for underprivileged children in India since 1991.