From revolutionizing global cell phone technologies to paving the way for STEM careers for the next generation, Wanda Gass ’78 has left a lasting legacy on both the engineering industry and society.
The George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing and the Rice Engineering Alumni board have honored Gass’ contributions with the Distinguished Service Medal. Established in 2012, this award recognizes alumni for visionary leadership and extraordinary service.
“Wanda Gass embodies the core values of our school: excellence, innovation, and service,” said Luay Nakhleh, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the School of Engineering and Computing. “Her leadership and tireless advocacy continue to shape our community—strengthening our academic programs, empowering our students and advancing our mission to engineer a better world.”
Gass spent more than three decades in leadership roles at Texas Instruments (TI), designing the company’s first commercially successful programmable digital signal processor at a time when the opportunity was ripe for advancing wireless communication, cellular devices and audio and visual integration.
“The semiconductor chip came out in 1982, around the time that television went digital,” said Gass. “We were in the right place and the right time as the world was transitioning to the digital domain.”
Her teams went on to power high-performance signal processing and develop emerging cell phone innovations through the 1990s, when TI technologies were in two-thirds of all cell phones worldwide. In 1999, Gass made history as one of the first two women to achieve the distinction of TI Fellow for her leadership in digital signal processing architectures and applications.
Upon retiring from TI in 2012, she launched and led Design Connect Create, a nonprofit that encourages young women and girls to pursue STEM careers. The program brought STEM camps to schools across Texas, offering hands-on learning experiences and guest speakers from the industry to open students’ minds to possibilities of pursuing STEM career pathways.
“What we did was unique: in addition to the camps, we would support the teachers in the schools with curriculum and offered professional development as a systemic approach to improving equity in the classroom,” Gass said. “Data showed that students in the camp scored higher on AP exams after taking the course.”
Gass has also dedicated years of service to Rice as a member of the Board of Trustees and as a member and chair of the School of Engineering and Computing External Advisory Board. Along with her husband Richard, Gass has helped strengthen support for Rice undergraduate students through mentorship, workforce development and philanthropy—mentoring interns, volunteering with the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership and supporting student scholarships.
“One of the things that blew me away as a Board of Trustees member is seeing what Rice does to give attention to the highest risk students to make sure they have the individual support they need to be successful,” said Gass. “By thinking of the student as a whole person instead of just a number, we can understand how to meet students’ needs to prepare them for success at Rice and in their careers.”
Gass received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rice. She will be formally honored at the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing Alumni Awards Celebration on October 22, 2026.