Bryant Ruff, senior in chemical engineering, has won the 2024 Robert H. Parks Prize for Engineering Leadership. Katie Hart, senior in mechanical engineering, and Jackson Hughes, senior in materials science and nanoengineering, will share the 2024 RCEL Award for Engineering Leadership. Read on to learn more about these amazing student leaders!
Amanda Prestia
Rice Center for Engineering Leadership
April 30, 2024
Bryant Ruff, senior in chemical and biomolecular engineering, has received the 2024 Robert H. Parks Award for Excellence in Engineering Leadership, which comes with a $5,000 prize. The award is given to a senior who displays leadership in and outside the classroom.
“I came to Rice with clear goals about what I wanted to study and what industry I wanted to enter,” said Ruff. “Through my years at Rice, I stayed true to this vision, dedicating myself at a technical level to stay at the top of my class and receive a number of scholarships, but also taking opportunities to lead through RCEL, my mission to Italy, the chemical engineering undergraduate board, and group projects.”
Ruff’s leadership experience at Rice includes work with the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL) and the Chemical Engineering Department (ChBE). At RCEL, he served as Student Director, spearheading events and initiatives for the 23-24 school year, including an alumni mentorship program, career development workshops, engineering challenges, panel discussions, and networking events. He previously served as the career development chair and led biannual resume reviews and career workshops. As CHBE Undergraduate Board President the same year, Ruff met monthly with the faculty board and weekly with the undergraduate board to implement curriculum changes and develop initiatives to best prepare students for success beyond Rice University.
In 2022, Ruff completed an internship at ExxonMobil, working as a project development engineer. In this role, he developed vacuum protection mitigations for several distillation towers in sour water and sulfur recovery services. Ultimately, he improved operations and completed projects worth over $6 million a year.”
“I had the pleasure of serving as Bryant Ruff’s lead during his internship working for the ExxonMobil Joliet Refinery,” said Brett Walker, Project Design Lead of ExxonMobil Global Projects, in his letter of recommendation. “During Bryant’s time in projects, he demonstrated critical leadership and interpersonal skills, which greatly contributed to his success in the organization.”
Ruff’s leadership experience expands beyond engineering. From May 2019 to May 2021, he served a two-year mission in Milan, Italy for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he provided humanitarian aid and coached individuals seeking greater purpose during the pandemic. When partnerships with local religious leaders were cut off during the pandemic, Ruff worked to revitalize them by analyzing which of their needs were not being met, and communicating how his organization could help. He also performed logistical, training, and translation services as the Assistant to the Mission President for 6 months.
“My two-year mission to Italy, when I learned a new language and dedicated myself to working with people rather than numbers, had a dramatic effect on me,” said Ruff. “I came back to Rice with a much clearer perception of my strengths and weaknesses, as well as a stronger sense of my values.”
Ruff served as Intramural Bike Captain at Rice, organizing practices, coached new bikers, and developed race strategies for Rice’s annual relay race. He also worked as a CLIC Language Consultant, mentoring students weekly on Italian grammar, vocabulary, and conversation to improve their fluency. He worked as a Laboratory Research Assistant as part of Rice’s carbon hub initiative, and lead a project analyzing degradation of fiber properties over time and compiled the results into a concise report.
“What sets Bryant apart is his passion for a deep understanding of engineering fundamentals and his incredible energy,” said Walter G. Chapman, William W. Akers Chair Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “Bryant is also a tireless leader: providing service to the engineering school, the ChBE department, and to his fellow students”
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Also honored are Katie Hart, senior in mechanical engineering, and Jackson Hughes, senior in materials science and nanoengineering, who received the 2024 RCEL Engineering Leadership Award and will share the prize. The award is given to a senior “whose qualities of character, leadership and responsibility have been outstanding during their undergraduate years at Rice.”
During her time at Rice, Katie Hart has been active in a variety of different organizations. Within engineering, she served as the President of the Rice chapter of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, where she grew as a young leader in managing technical projects and organizing events. She was also heavily involved with the Rice Center for Engineering, serving as a Student Director and TA, moderating two industry panels, representing at conferences like the U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference and Society for Women Engineers (SWE), as well as participating and coaching for the Lockheed Martin Ethics and Engineering Competition.
Across Rice, Hart has worked to build the academic and social culture at Duncan College as a Spirit Head, Beer Bike Coordinator, and Head Academic Fellow. She also poured her time into Rice Cru, a campus ministry organization, where she’s formally led as a Vice President for four years, led small groups, and mentored students individually. During this time, she helped to take the movement from a group of nine students passionate about the mission to over fifty students engaged in doing outreaches on campus and overseas. Alongside these commitments, Hart conducted research, worked as an Undergraduate Teaching Fellow, and worked as a Course Mentor for Rice’s Pre-Collegiate Space Exploration Program.
“Each of my Rice experiences has challenged me in a new way—from planning and change management to managing conflict and casting vision—and has led to my growth as a leader,” said Hart.
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Over the last two years, Jackson Hughes served as President and Chief Justice at McMurtry Residential College, with a primary focus on ensuring safety and fostering a sense of community among the 450+ students, including implementing safety measures and organizing community-building initiatives. Through his work with Rice Consulting, a student-led, undergraduate management consulting group that provides strategy services to local, regional, and national businesses in order to help members gain real consulting experience, Hughes assumed various leadership positions, including Team Lead, Internal Vice President (IVP), and ultimately President. In this capacity, he led a 30% growth in the club and devised strategic plans to facilitate further expansion. As a senior, Hughes led his senior engineering design team to clinch 5th place in the nationwide TMS Metallurgy and Blacksmith Sword Competition.
Additionally, Hughes contributed to the Rice Community as a Technical Communications Coach at the School of Engineering, guiding students in presentation skills and enhancing their ability to communicate technical concepts effectively. At the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL), Hughes assumed the role of Student Co-Director, overseeing a wide array of student programs and workshops focused on cultivating leadership skills among engineering students. Hughes has been a Beer Bike Coordinator, a Teaching Assistant for RCEL courses, an interviewer for the Office of Admissions, and a coach for the Ethics in Engineering Competition team, who went on to with the national competition over 70 other schools.
“These experiences have not only enriched my personal growth,” said Hughes, “but have also reinforced my commitment to fostering excellence and making meaningful contributions within academic and professional spheres alike.”