Stony Brook University Announces 40 Under Forty Alumni Honorees

Stony Brook University is proud to announce the honorees for the fifth 40 Under Forty awards celebration, recognizing an exceptional group of alumni under forty years old who have demonstrated both excellence in their chosen professions and outstanding advocacy for their community.  A celebration will be held on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at Current, located at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan.

“The extraordinary talent demonstrated by these individuals in their early careers is a testament not only to the high-quality education they received at Stony Brook University, but also to the caliber of our entire student community,” said Interim University President Michael Bernstein. “We applaud the achievements of this year’s 40 Under Forty honorees.”

This year’s 40 Under Forty class consists of world-class athletes and leaders in medicine, education, government, communications and the arts. Among the honorees are:

• Surabhi Gupta ’05, director of engineering for Airbnb, who was named to Business Insider’s list of Most Powerful Female Engineers in 2017. Gupta also started an event series for female engineers called Taking Flight.
• Lora Webster ’17, four-time Paralympic Games medalist for USA’s Sitting Volleyball team, who received a Gold Medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
• Natalie Amrossi ’11, aerial and corporate brand photographer, who created the Misshattan brand. With over 400,000 Instagram followers, Amrossi has been named “The Queen of the Sky” by Huffington Post.
• Kapil Kanugo ’07, founder and former vice president of product and strategy for Bonnet, who helped develop the first emotion-based smartwatch.
• Jennifer Eng-Kulawy ’06, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, who has been named Navy Pediatrician of the Year by Uniformed Services West Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Franck D. Joseph ’12, deputy commissioner for the New York City Commission on Human Rights, who was previously chief of staff — the youngest in New York state at the time — for Council Member Donovan Richards. He also works as a human rights advocate for his Queens community. 

Since its founding in 1957, Stony Brook University has established itself as one of America’s most dynamic public universities.  As such, this young university has produced alumni who are among the most accomplished in their fields. A center of academic excellence, Stony Brook is an internationally recognized research institution that offers all of its students a world-class education, and is ranked among the top 40 public universities in the country.  

For more information on Stony Brook’s 40 Under Forty, visit stonybrook.edu/40underforty.