Le Moyne College Stories

Martha Grabowski knows that – whether it’s used to control air traffic, guide surgeons or steer oil tankers through waterways – technology is everywhere.

“Near-term high-impact technology developments are already here … and will transform how we live, work, govern, organize ourselves, relate to each other, think about each other and care for each other,” she said. “… We have much to learn over the next 20 years about how to balance our affection for and addiction to technologies with care and concern for our world and for each other. We will advance most as citizens of this planet when we learn how and when to turn off our technology and to listen to and care for our neighbor, whether they are around the corner or around the globe.”

The College's Distinguished McDevitt Chair in Information Systems, Grabowski has devoted her professional life to studying technology and organizational strategy, telecommunications and networking, and the use of information systems to give organizations a competitive edge. Her work in the area of risk management in particular is so well respected that when the Exxon tanker Valdez ran aground in Alaska in 1989, she was among the first experts called. Later Grabowski was awarded a multi-year government contract to design an on-board computer console to better enable people at the helm of a ship to see where they are and to identify potential hazards surrounding them.

Prior to coming to Le Moyne – where she has taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses including information systems, decision support systems, and system analysis and design – Grabowski taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She also served as an applications manager in Navy marketing for General Electric Co., helping the company identify, pursue and manage submarine business opportunities.

A licensed deck officer in the U.S. merchant marine and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Grabowski spent a couple of years sailing around the world, traveling to ports in Hong Kong, Singapore and Rotterdam.

She earned a doctoral degree in information systems and artificial intelligence, a master’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; she earned a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.