Rice Engineering and Computing Alumni Awards Recognize Excellence

At the 2024 George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing Alumni Celebration in November, the school honored alumni for their professional achievements.

DISTINGUISHED ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARD

Cassandra McZeal, who recently marked 25 years at ExxonMobil, has made a significant impact on the energy sector. As the leader of the modeling, optimization, and data science team within the company’s opportunity evaluation and analysis organization, she drives mathematical modeling that supports strategic decision-making and business development. Beyond her professional achievements, McZeal is deeply committed to enhancing engineering education at Rice. She serves on the Engineering Advisory Board and the REINVENTS External Advisory Committee and has shared her expertise in the classroom as an adjunct professor. She earned her M.A. in 1998 and Ph.D. in 1999, both in Computational and Applied Mathematics.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL

John Jaggers has been in the venture capital industry since 1983 and with Sevin Rosen Funds since 1988. Throughout his career, he has focused on empowering early-stage technology companies. He has served on and chaired the Rice Engineering Advisory (REA) Board and the Engineering Advisory Board, and helped start Rice’s Digital Learning Initiative as a member of the Board of Trustees. He currently serves on the advisory board for the Office of Innovation at Rice and the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Vision Committee. Jaggers earned his B.A. and master’s in electrical engineering from Rice and generously supports the school, including a gift to name The Jaggers Family Collaboration Area in the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science.

OUTSTANDING ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARD

Jim Pyke is a longtime champion for engineering education at Rice, having served as a board member and president for the REA, where he was one of the founders of the Rice Summer Engineering Experience. He received his B.A. and B.S. in mechanical engineering and is the founder and principal of the consultancy group TCB Advisors, where he advises business clients’ opportunities in the energy transition.

Pretta VanDible Stallworth is the District IX Trustee for the Houston Community College Board. Throughout her career that spans corporate training, curriculum design, and business consulting, she has remained committed to increasing access to education for students in underserved communities. VanDible Stallworth earned her B.S. and master’s in chemical engineering and serves on the REA Board.

OUTSTANDING YOUNG ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARD

Suman Khatiwada is the co-founder and chief technical officer of Syzygy Plasmonics, one of the most prominent climate tech startup companies in the world. He has helped the company raise four rounds of venture capital funding, win three government grants, and build a team of more than 100 employees. Suman earned his Ph.D. in materials science and nanoengineering and has served as a startup mentor at the Rice Alliance Clean Tech Accelerator.

Mohit Kumar Jolly is a leading scholar in cancer dynamics research with an impressive publication record of more than 150 publications and 10,000 citations. He is an associate professor of bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and serves as the editor-in-chief of npj Systems Biology and Applications. Kumar Jolly received his Ph.D. in bioengineering.


DEAN’S APPRECIATION AWARD

James Truchard co-founded National Instruments in 1976 and co-invented LabVIEW, a graphical programming language that has benefitted industries ranging from space and energy to medicine. He has championed Rice engineering programs such as the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK), OpenStax, and ECE research initiatives. Truchard has also generously funded endowed faculty positions in the ECE and computer science departments.