The Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL) entered a new phase early in May as its founding director, Mark Embree, Ann and John Doerr Professor and professor of computational and applied mathematics, led a delegation of students and staff on a trip to visit leadership centers at four universities in the Northeast. In the spirit of Edgar Odell Lovett, the group set out to find what made good engineering leadership programs work and what might be adapted for use by RCEL.
The group visited Pennsylvania State, Princeton, Olin College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology over four days. They covered about 750 miles, taking time out for a whirlwind tour of New York City, where they spent less than four hours.
"All our hosts extended generous hospitality and shared much collected wisdom. I am particularly grateful for the students that made the trip, and represented Rice so well. Students will form the foundation of RCEL, so it is essential that we benefit from their spirit and insight from the very beginning," said Mark Embree, the Ann and John Doerr Professor, founding director of RCEL and professor of computational and applied mathematics.
After visiting each school, the group would meet and talk about what they had seen and heard, what programs they thought would or would not work at Rice, and what programs they would like RCEL to offer. They discussed similar topics during the hours on the road.
“This trip was an incredible opportunity to represent Rice and to observe how other colleges approach engineering education and leadership,” said Leslie Miller, junior mechanical engineering major. “It is exciting to have so many great ideas to bring back and sift through as we define engineering leadership at Rice.”
Other students on the trip were Apoorv Bhargava, a junior and Jim Wang a senior, both chemical engineering majors; Aron Yu, senior electrical engineering major; Max Grossman, junior computer science major and Mona Sheikh, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering. Accompanying the group was Ann Lugg, director of communications for the School of Engineering.
The Rice Center for Engineering Leadership was established to help prepare future engineers to take on leadership roles in solving pressing global problems. The Center is funded by a $15 million gift from Ann and John Doerr, ’75 and ’73. A matching component of the gift could bring an additional $10 million to the center.
—Ann Lugg, School of Engineering Office of Communications