Teju Kishore has received the 2016 Robert H. Parks, Jr. Prize for Excellence in Engineering Leadership, and Colin C. Shaw the 2016 Engineering Leadership Award, both given by the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL).
“They exemplify the type of engineering graduate RCEL seeks to send into industry. They are intelligent, hard-working and motivated. As Engineering Leadership Certificate holders, the skills they learned will set them apart from their peers. Their accomplishments at Rice foreshadow their future success,” said Kaz Karwowski, executive director of RCEL.
Teju Kishore will graduate in May with a B.S. in chemical and biomolecular engineering (ChBE), a minor in business and an Engineering Leadership Certificate from RCEL. The Parks Prize recognizes a senior who displays “leadership both in and outside the classroom, and is recognized by faculty, and their peers as an exemplary leader. This award will recognize past leadership as well as the potential for future engineering leadership.”
This year Kishore served as president of the Rice chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Texas Society of Professional Engineers named her Outstanding Senior Chemical Engineering Student and Most Outstanding Senior Engineer at Rice.
Kishore headed RCEL’s Mentorship Committee and has served as vice president, supervisor and treasurer of the Rice Robotic Club. She is co-founder and treasurer of Knitting for a Warmer World, and a member of the Society of Women Engineers.
Pavel Chaguine, who graduated from Rice with a B.S. in ChBE in 2014 and now works as a design engineer with Weatherford International, said in his nominating letter: “I met Teju when I started the Rice Robotics Club in the fall of 2013. When we met for the first time, we were both hesitant in starting the Rice Robotics Club as we wanted to find someone as dedicated as ourselves. These meetings led to a very successful start for the Robotics Club at Rice and even now after both of us have left, the club is thriving and consistently competing in the top of the US rankings.”
Colin Shaw will graduate in May with a B.A. is statistics and an Engineering Leadership Certificate. He served as a student staff member at RCEL from 2012 to 2016, and as a leadership researcher from 2013 to 2015.
In 2015-16, Shaw served as president of Duncan College, and for three years he served as treasurer, vice-chair and college representative for the University Court. Since 2013, Shaw has worked as a writing mentor and technical assistant to design teams in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen.
“Colin has more leadership experience than any other student I have worked with at Rice because he has served as a leader through all of his four years,” Matthew Wettergreen, lecturer at the OEDK, wrote in his nominating letter for Shaw.
Originally posted on Rice Engineering News
Patrick Kurp, Engineering Communications
April 15, 2016