Speakers

Graduate College Commencement Speaker

Karl Mueller

Karl Mueller started a new role as Director of Ames National Laboratory on June 1, 2025. He also holds the rank of tenured professor in the department of chemistry at Iowa State University. Prior to joining Ames Lab, Mueller served for 15 years in multiple roles at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), most recently as director of the program development office for PNNL’s Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate. Before joining PNNL in 2010, Mueller spent 17 years as a faculty member at Penn State University, during which time he rose to the rank of professor in the chemistry department. Mueller earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Rochester in New York and a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed a postgraduate studies certificate at the University of Cambridge in England as a Churchill Scholar supported by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States. He was also elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011. His research career includes more than 195 peer-reviewed papers detailing the development of magnetic resonance methods and applied studies in natural and engineered systems. He became passionately interested in quantum computing and future energy technologies, such as fusion, during his time at PNNL. At Ames Lab, he is working with his staff to build upon their core strengths in chemistry, critical minerals, and materials science to advance new strategic directions in artificial intelligence, fusion energy, and quantum information sciences.

College of Veterinary Medicine Commencement Ceremony Speaker

Steve Carlson

Dr. Steve Carlson received his Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Iowa State University. After three years as a private practice large-animal veterinarian, he returned to school and received a Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology at the University of Iowa. Following postdoctoral training in pathogenic bacteriology focusing on Salmonella, Dr. Carlson worked as a Veterinary Medical Officer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture where he solved a major problem regarding antibiotic resistant Salmonella with enhanced disease-causing capabilities.

He now is an Associate Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, where he teaches Pharmacology and Reproductive Physiology and is a six-time teaching award winner. Dr. Carlson has published over 70 papers and is considered the international expert on the virulence of multiple antibiotic-resistant Salmonella in livestock. He is also the co-founder of two small biotech companies, both of which are aimed at identifying livestock that resist infectious diseases.

Morning Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

Christi Shaw

Christi Shaw is a life sciences leader and advocate for patients with more than 30 years of pharmaceutical industry experience across a broad range of therapeutic areas, including oncology. Christi formerly served as Chief Executive Officer of Kite, a Gilead Company, where she led a global team dedicated exclusively to the research, commercialization and manufacturing of CART-cell therapy. Under Christi’s leadership, Kite became the global leader in potentially curative cell therapy with multiple approved blood cancer indications in over 20 countries and went from treating a few hundred patients to thousands of patients world-wide. Prior to Kite, Christi held senior executive positions at Lilly, Novartis, and Johnson & Johnson. Christi’s leadership skills have led her to receive the Healthcare Business Association’s Woman of the Year Award (2023) and be recognized on the Forbes 50 Over 50 list (2022). In 2016, while being a caregiver to her older sister, Christi and her younger sister co-founded the More Moments More Memories Foundation, an organization providing grants to help people access oncology clinical trials for potentially life-saving treatment. Christi is currently the Executive Chair of Kyverna Therapeutics and serves on the board of directors of Beam Therapeutics. She is a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, advisor to Cellares and to the Iowa State University Ivy College of Business. Christi holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Iowa State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin. Christi is active in sustainable farming and resides with her husband and son in Florida.
 

Afternoon Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

David Slump

David earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University in 1991 and then completed his Master of Business Administration in 1996 at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Beyond his corporate leadership, David is deeply engaged in education and innovation, and is especially active at Iowa State University, having served on the Electrical and Computer Engineering External Advisory Board, the College of Engineering External Advisory Board, an Innovator in Residence and co-founded the Student Innovation Fellows Program, helping students gain hands-on experience in solving real-world problems. David, and his wife Christine, launched and funded the Student Innovation Fund and, most recently, are funding an interdisciplinary capstone between mechanical engineering and industrial design. David joined Marelli, a global automotive technology provider, in January of 2022, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Marelli is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and David’s office is based in Milan, Italy. David also serves as a board member at Marelli, as well as a board member for Koki Holdings, a global power tools company. David has also held a variety of senior leadership positions with companies including Samsung subsidiary HARMAN, Toshiba subsidiary Landis+Gyr, General Electric, ABB and Exelon subsidiary Commonwealth Edison. With a 30-year track record of growth and turnarounds, Mr. Slump is a growth-oriented multi-cultural leader in the Automotive and Energy industries. His experiences have been based on a strong passion for team building, innovation, and external relationships.
 

Evening Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

Kent Lucken

Kent Lucken is a Managing Director and North American Head of Financial Sponsors at Citi Private Bank in Boston, where he leads Citi’s engagement with global private equity and infrastructure funds. Prior to joining Citi, Kent worked at Robertson Stephens, a leading technology-focused investment bank. Kent is a fourteen-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, where he completed diplomatic assignments at the U.S. embassies in Italy, the Soviet Union and Russia, Georgia, Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, he served as the first U.S. diplomat in the newly independent Republic of Georgia. He also participated in the Dayton peace talks while assigned to the former Yugoslavia during the war. Kent has served as a Foreign Policy Advisor for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, worked as a Romney Political Advisor for two Iowa Caucuses, and helped lead Romney’s national security transition planning. Kent serves on the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors, a trustee for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, a member of Harvard Belfer Center’s International Council, a trustee for the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, and a member of The Trilateral Commission and The Economic Club of New York. Kent earned his Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Iowa State University. His wife, Kristen, is a faculty member at Brandeis University, and they have two sons.