Wendy Hoenig ’86 knows a good pitch when she hears one. So when the Rice Wind Energy team members prepared to speak to investors about their wind turbine prototype, Hoenig was their sounding board. With nearly 40 years of experience in global business and technology development, she knew just the right questions to ask to guide the team toward a winning pitch.
When Hoenig agreed to be an industry sponsor for Rice Wind Energy through her private consulting group H&H Business Development, LLC, she knew she wanted to give more than financial support. She was one of several Rice professors who worked with the team to map out a game plan for taking their prototype from their wind tunnel in the mechanical engineering lab to second place in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025 Collegiate Wind Competition.
For Hoenig, mentorship is a way of life. It is the throughline of her career and a hallmark of her impact on the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing.
As a business and technology leader, Hoenig helped shape the global plastics industry—an impact that was recognized by her 2024 election to the Plastics Hall of Fame. During her two decades of executive leadership positions at The Dow Chemical Company, she led teams across North America and Europe to develop business ventures and bring new technologies to market.
Hoenig’s career has always been as much about the people as it has been about developing innovative technologies, and mentorship is ingrained in her leadership style. “Mentoring and coaching teams has always been a rewarding part of work for me,” said Hoenig. “Helping each member to reach their highest potential is important to me personally and as a leader.”
One of those great heights for Hoenig’s global Dow teams was working with customers to commercialize critical technologies in plastics that have since transformed the industry. “With the metallocene revolution in the polyolefins industry in the 1990s, I worked with people all over the world across multiple disciplines to bring new technologies to customers and communities,” said Hoenig. “New families of products came from that…all because those teams worked effectively together.”
Now, Hoenig brings that same spirit of team-building and collaboration to Rice to help shape students’ hands-on engineering research experiences and leadership opportunities.
After retiring from Dow in 2010, Hoenig began reinvesting back into Rice University at a pivotal time for the School of Engineering and Computing. She joined the Rice Engineering Alumni (REA)—eventually serving as the REA president—and began mentoring students in the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) after its 2009 launch.
“I so enjoyed working with the great people on the REA board, and we really wanted to move from a social organization to one that truly gives back,” said Hoenig. “Getting closer to the student body was a big focus during my time on the REA, especially during my presidency.”
More than a decade later, Hoenig’s passion for impacting the student body through mentorship took her to the front of the classroom. Now a professor in the practice at the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL), she draws from her entrepreneurial expertise to mentor the next generation of engineering leaders.
“Professor Hoenig has the perfect combination of experience as a senior engineering leader in a large, global engineering organization,” said RCEL executive director Kazimir Karwowski. “She is a pioneer in her field, and the wisdom and mentorship she provides to our students is invaluable.”
Beyond the classroom, Hoenig has helped guide the future of the school itself. From 2018-2024, she served on the Engineering Advisory Board, playing a key role in shaping the school’s Vision to 2025 strategic plan.
“Wendy has been an exemplary alumna, a true champion of our school,” said Luay Nakhleh, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. “As a member of the advisory board, she consistently inspired us to strive for excellence, and I have personally benefited from her wise counsel. Her love for and support of our school are extraordinary.”
For Hoenig, the work always comes back to mentorship and impact. Whether collaborating with Rice Wind Energy, guiding startups, or leading global industry teams, she sees success not only in projects but in people.
“Building the strategic plan was more far-reaching than just the engineering school,” said Hoenig. “We asked, ‘How can we impact the world? How can we impact the community?’ Technology can significantly impact society—and it is our opportunity to make a difference by engineering for the greater good.”