N.C. A&T Alumnus Dr. Raheem Beyah Tapped to Lead the Nation’s Largest Engineering Program at Georgia Tech

The year 2021 started off for Dr. Raheem Beyah ‘98 on a high note when Georgia Tech announced his new appointment as dean of the College of Engineering – which is recognized as an elite engineering school and one of the top public institutions in the nation.

Beyah, a native of Atlanta with deep ties to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, credits his grandmother for introducing him to engineering.

“Growing up in Atlanta, my mother would send me to North Carolina to spend summers with my grandmother, who is an alumna of Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. My grandmother and aunt would check out computers that provided me the exposure I needed to go into engineering and honestly those summers outside of Atlanta kept me out of trouble,” said Beyah.

“My grandmother was very influential in my decision to attend an HBCU because I would always tell her I wanted to go to college where I could be closer to her.”

Beyah graduated from the Atlanta Public School System and attended North Carolina A&T to obtain his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Immediately after graduating from North Carolina A&T, he attended Georgia Tech to earn his master’s and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering in 1999 and 2003, respectively.

Over the course of Beyah’s career, he has worked as a professor at Georgia State University, a consultant for Andersen Consulting, and has had various leadership roles at Georgia Tech. His most recent positions at Georgia Tech were vice president for Interdisciplinary Research, executive director of the Online Master of Science in Cybersecurity program, and Motorola Foundation Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE).

“When I look back over my life, I never imagined I would be here. There are so many people that contributed to my success,” he said, “but most importantly, I learned my work ethic from my mother. She was a single mom who worked three jobs and I can remember being a student at A&T not having a lot but I was determined to send money back home to support my family.

“I am so fortunate right now to be in a position that changes generations overnight – meaning, when students graduate with an engineering degree and they secure a job in their field, it transforms their lives.” 

Beyah is the co-founder and board chairman of Fortiphyd Logic Inc., an industrial cybersecurity company. He is also the co-founder and a steering committee member of the Academic and Research Leadership Network, a platform created to support and provide mentoring to minority Ph.D. researchers.

“Engineering has played a major role in my life that has allowed me to travel the world, dream bigger, sit at the table with executives and most importantly share these experiences with my wife and my children,” he said. “I am grateful to appreciate where I come from and I am looking forward to this new journey at Georgia Tech.”

Beyah officially started his role as dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech on Jan. 15, 2021.