Engineering school celebrates 50th anniversary, invites students, alumni and speakers
The George R. Brown School of Engineering invited engineering alumni, students and faculty to celebrate its 50th anniversary March 28-29. The event, which took place in the Engineering Quad, included speakers, a drone show, alumni gatherings and other social events like mixers.
During the anniversary, President Reggie DesRoches discussed some of the additional programs that Rice will be creating through research partnerships with other institutions such as the University of California, Davis and Georgia Institute of Technology.
“We made a graduate fellowship for graduate students who demonstrated commitment to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion,” DesRoches said when discussing a research partnership with UC Davis.
Aside from expanding research efforts, DesRoches said he wanted to work on providing resources for underrepresented engineers and fostering a multidimensional space for engineers to collaborate and thrive in.
“[The goal is] acceleration and advancing innovation to make the world better for everyone,” DesRoches said.
George R. Brown School of Engineering was founded in 1975 and comprised four engineering concentrations: civil, chemical, electrical and mechanical. Fifty years later, the school has expanded to nine concentrations, as well as increasing the number of labs and makerspaces available to the Rice community.
Some of the speakers included Chris Hyams, the CEO of Indeed.com, Suman Khatiwada, the co-founder and CTO of Syzygy and Tomeka McLeod, the vice president of US bp.
Earl Vanzant ’61, who received a degree in chemical engineering before the George R. Brown School of Engineering had been officially established, said his time at Rice strongly impacted his career path.
“I lived on campus all five years,” Vanzant said. “I was around a lot of other people and got to know them. I still stay in touch with a few of them.”
DesRoches said he hopes to grow the influence and prestige of the engineering school in the future.
“We’ve built a legacy of impact and world class education,” DesRoches said. “So here’s to another 50 years and many more.
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