Elevating Electrical Engineering at RPI Through Visionary Philanthropy
A $27 Million Donation from Douglas A. Mercer ’77 Will Redefine Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at RPI
Professor and Dept. Head Alhussein Abouzeid, President Martin Schmidt ’81, Doug Mercer ’77, Provost Rebecca Doerge, Dean Shekhar Garde (L-R Front Row) at the Signing Ceremony on August 25
For Doug Mercer ’77, helping prepare the next generation of electrical engineers to excel in the workforce has been a personal crusade for decades. With his most recent donation to the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) in the School of Engineering, he has provided the momentum needed to fulfill this mission in perpetuity — and establish ECSE as the go-to department for aspiring electrical engineers.
In June 2026, Mercer donated nearly $27 million to support the department where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. A graduate of RPI’s Class of 1977, Mercer spent his career leading technological advances at Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) and is currently a Fellow Emeritus. In recognition of his inspirational support for ECSE, the department will be renamed the Douglas A. Mercer ’77 Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering.
“For nearly 120 years, electrical engineering has been a core component of RPI’s identity,” said RPI President Martin A. Schmidt ’81, Ph.D., a fellow graduate of ECSE. “The Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering has a remarkable history. Pioneering alumni such as Marcian “Ted” Hoff ’58, Steve Sasson ’72, ’73G, B. Jayant Baliga ’71G, ’74, Ph.D., and Curtis Priem ’82 have graduated from the department and gone on to develop groundbreaking technologies like the microprocessor, digital camera, insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and the PC graphics processor. As a pioneer in analog-digital conversion, Doug Mercer ’77 has left his own powerful impact on the field — and with this extraordinary donation, he’s ensuring that ECSE has the resources needed to continue equipping students for revolutionary discoveries long into the future.”
Incorporating hands-on learning throughout the ECSE curriculum and investing in faculty positions are two ways that Mercer intends to do just this. He is a deep believer in the power of experiential learning, as it motivates students to master the fundamentals, commit knowledge to memory, and learn through creation and collaboration.
Mercer’s naming gift will build on the significant investment he’s already made in ECSE. The Douglas A. Mercer ’77 Innovation and Exploration Laboratory, known as the Mercer XLab, is based in the Jonsson Engineering Center and has been supporting hands-on learning in the School of Engineering for over a decade. In addition to providing critical funding for faculty positions, Mercer’s $27 million donation will further integrate use of the Mercer XLab within ECSE, sustaining a department where hands-on discovery is the norm rather than the exception. These enhancements will serve as an example across all of engineering at RPI to redefine education and research in the fields of science and technology.
“Doug Mercer ’77 has long invested his resources, time, experience, and ideas in ECSE, supporting student design and exploration, advising the department, and championing learning by building,” said Alhussein Abouzeid, head of the Douglas A. Mercer ’77 Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering. “Our students know him as an engineer and inventor who takes a genuine interest in their work and challenges them to turn ideas into something real. His gift carries that spirit across the department by expanding opportunities for students to discover, create, and innovate, and for faculty to teach, invent, and lead at the frontiers of their fields. It is a rare honor to carry his name, and we are committed to making ECSE a national model for how engineers are made.”
For Mercer, his love of electrical engineering has motivated him since the fourth grade. A native of Saratoga Springs, NY, Mercer followed his passion down the Northway to RPI, which offered a prestigious electrical engineering department. Four years of hard work and resilience paid off when he interviewed with an RPI alumnus at ADI and joined the company after graduation.
Mercer went on to build a career in the linear IC industry, helping design and develop high resolution and high speed data converter products. He contributed to over 30 commercial products, with industry firsts such as the first single supply microprocessor compatible DAC. Mercer holds 13 patents and was appointed to the position of ADI Fellow in 1995. He retired from full-time work in 2009 and continues to consult with ADI.
“Doug Mercer is a quintessential engineer, inventor, and visionary whose pioneering work at the interface of the analog and digital worlds has helped shape the technologies that power modern life” said Shekhar Garde, Thomas R. Farino, Jr. ’67 and Patricia E. Farino Dean of Engineering. “Doug’s transformative gift is a testament to his unwavering belief in learning by doing and in the power of an RPI education. Through this gift, Doug is investing in generations of students and faculty, elevating education, research, and student experience in ECSE, Engineering, and beyond, for decades to come.”
In reflecting on his journey and his aspirations for RPI students, Mercer shared some simple advice: stay curious, find your passion, remember the fundamentals, and question everything. As the Douglas A. Mercer ’77 Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering begins a new chapter, the generosity of this dedicated alumnus will enable the department to continue attracting passionate, curious students ready to transform the world in their own way.
Please join the RPI community on Friday, October 9, at 9:00 a.m. as we formally rename the ECSE department in Mercer’s honor with a special celebration at EMPAC. This event is part of RPI’s Reunion & Homecoming weekend. For more details and to RSVP for the ECSE naming ceremony, visit reunion.rpi.edu.