Registration Now Open!

50th Anniversary Celebration

March 28 - 29, 2025

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Registration | Welcome Breakfast

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Opening Ceremony and Remarks

• Reginald DesRoches, Rice University President
• Amy Dittmar, Rice University Provost
• Luay Nakhleh, Dean of Engineering and Computing

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Break

10:30 - 11:30 AM

Computing in Our World
Moderator: Lydia Kavraki, Professor of Computer Science, Director of The Ken Kennedy Institute, Rice University

• Chris Hyams ('95), CEO, Indeed.com
• Partha Ranganathan ('97 '00), Vice President, Engineering Fellow, Google
• Talithia Williams ('07 '08), Professor of Mathematics, Harvey Mudd College

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Break

12:00 - 1:30 PM

Engineering Innovations in Energy and Sustainability Panel | Lunch
Moderator: Aditya Mohite, REINVENTS Director, Rice University

• Vivas Kumar ('14), CEO and Co-Founder, Mitra Chem
• Tomeka McLeod ('95), Vice President, US, bp
• Chris Powers ('02), Vice President, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) and Emerging, Chevron New Energies
• Bobby Tudor ('82), CEO, Artemis Energy Partners; Greater Houston Partnership Board of Directors

1:30 - 2:15 PM

Break

2:15 - 3:15 PM

Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Panel
Moderator: Paul Cherukuri, Vice President for Innovation, Rice University

• Mohit Aron ('00 '07), Founder and CEO, Stealth Startup
• Suman Khatiwada ('13), Co-Founder and CTO, Syzygy
• Joanna Nathan ('11 '12 '19), CEO, Prana Thoracic

3:15 - 4:00 PM

Break

4:00 - 5:00 PM

Owl-to-Owl Networking for Engineering Alumni and Students

6:30 - 9:00 PM

Engineering Quad Party with food, live music and games for all ages

8:00 - 9:00 AM

Departmental Meetups | Continental Breakfast

9:00 - 10:00 AM

Keynote: The Future of Engineering in Academia and the World

Gary S. May, Chancellor, University of California, Davis

Followed by a fireside chat with Reginald DesRoches, President, Rice University

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Explore Your Way: Experience firsthand the spirit of innovation that defines Rice Engineering and Computing. We welcome you behind the scenes to get an insider's look at our labs and maker spaces where groundbreaking ideas come to life.

• Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science
• Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen
• NEWT Center
• Rice360 Institute for Global Health
• Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Lab
• Materials Physics for Energy Management
• And more

12:00 - 1:30 PM

The Future of Engineering and Computing: Solving for Greater Good | Lunch
Moderator: Lisa Biswal, Senior Associate Dean, School of Engineering and Computing, Rice University

• Rich Baraniuk, C. Sidney Burrus Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Statistics and of Computer Science, Rice University
• Qilin Li, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Co-Director, NEWT Center, Rice University
• Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Malcolm Gillis University Professor, Professor of Bioengineering, Co-Director of Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, Rice University