Thank you so much. First, I want to say how honored I am to participate in this golden jubilee celebration, one that honors this lauded school’s past while also looking toward the future.

I’ve also been looking forward to seeing my longtime friend, President Reginald DesRoches. I was here for his inauguration in 2022 and knew that Rice University would be in very good hands.

As you know, we’ve been friends for more than 35 years. We met at UC Berkeley as engineering students, but at different points in our academic journeys. He was a sophomore. I was getting started on my master’s degree.

We became fast friends through the Black Engineering and Science Students Association, otherwise known as BESSA. We bonded even more through our membership in the National Society of Black Engineers.

Our connection didn’t end there. We worked together at Georgia Tech for more than 5 years. I also had the pleasure of appointing him to the position of chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2012.

In fact, he was the first person I thought of for that role, someone who could lead civil and environmental engineering at Georgia Tech into the future. And that’s exactly what happened.

And all these years later – more like decades later - we’re both leading major research universities.

Rice University and UC Davis share many core values, including a commitment to diversity, creating hands-on opportunities for undergraduate students, and a culture of collaboration and innovation.

A few notes about UC Davis before I continue. We’re the most comprehensive school in the University of California system. UC Davis offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and more than 90 graduate programs. We are currently ranked as the #3 public school in the nation by the Wall Street Journal. UC Davis is also home to the top schools in the country for agriculture and veterinary medicine.

Beyond all the accolades for both UC Davis and Rice University, both President DesRoches and I are navigating the challenges and opportunities that higher education faces at the current time.

This means we’re trying to understand and evaluate the impact of executive actions in Washington on our teaching, research, and campus life, both here in Houston and in Davis.

We live in a time of polarization where the term “diversity” is re-cast as a divisive term. We also face the specter of proposed cuts from federal agencies that support our most crucial research.

The future of medicine … how to feed a growing planet … addressing climate change and preventing future pandemics … all of this is at stake – and more. Higher education must continue to lead the way in creating a better tomorrow while empowering students to emerge as the next generation of leaders.

I will continue to advocate for federal funding support. I want to thank President DesRoches for joining 70 other universities in supporting a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health, which may reduce research funding by billions of dollars.

We must stay committed to unlocking scientific advancements for the greater good of our communities and planet. We must also do all we can to prepare the next generations of engineers for a global workforce, to encourage hands-on experiences and mentor them along the way.

The Diversity Imperative

As we ponder the future of engineering education, I will continue to insist on one key thing. Diversity is not some kind of dirty word or a bow to political correctness. It’s what we must do to remain competitive in the global workforce.

Consider that diversity is at the root of innovation and technological advancement. The greater the diversity in university research, the more likely we are to make discoveries and solve problems. A broad mix of backgrounds, experiences and ideas helps make this happen.

I understand this isn’t an easy sell for some. That’s true now and in the past as well.

I’m thinking back to my first week as Dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. I received an envelope containing an essay called, “Entitled to Incompetence: An Essay Regarding the Tragedy of the Diversity Program at Georgia Tech.” 

This was the first sentence – quote - “We were driven to write this essay because we are concerned that Georgia Tech is in danger of being dumbed down by a so-called diversity program.”

That was quite an introduction to my job.

But, these things are not mutually exclusive. You can broaden participation and increase diversity without sacrificing quality.

Because in the end, it’s not more scientists that lead to more innovations. It’s more diverse scientists that lead to more innovations.

Let me explain more about what I mean.

The first airbags in the auto industry almost killed women passengers when they were deployed in accidents, because they were tested on crash-test dummies that had male anatomies.

A similar flaw was true for early speech recognition systems. They didn’t recognize women’s voices.

We’re also finding that some Artificial Intelligence programs used for facial recognition have racial and gender biases.

One researcher, an African-American woman from Georgia Tech, tested various facial recognition systems while wearing a white mask to hide her features. She found the systems worked better on men’s faces compared to women. She also found they worked better on lighter-toned faces. In fact, she recorded error rates up to 47% for darker-skinned women like herself.

Another study from Georgia Tech found that people of color are more likely to get hit by a driverless car.  Driverless cars may also better detect pedestrians with lighter skin than those of us with darker skin.

By the way, that researcher was Joy Buolamwini, one of my former students.

These are just a few quick examples, but they make a clear point. Diversity, as a practical matter, leads to better outcomes. If there were diverse engineers on those design teams, they may not have overlooked those particular design flaws.

Supporting Students and Faculty

However, we have much work to do in building this diversity. We know that the proportion of underrepresented populations remains abysmally low in STEM fields. It’s been an intractable problem in our profession and I’ve spent much of my career working to change that.

So, it’s imperative that we focus on strategies to attract and retain underrepresented students in STEM fields and engineering. We must further support them during their academic journeys and help them build community.

I know the importance of this first-hand. The first example came from my mother, who was something of a pioneer. She was among the first students to integrate the University of Missouri during the era of Jim Crow laws in the 1950s. Needless to say, my mom endured a lot in her pursuit of higher education. But, she also taught me the power of persistence and speaking up for what’s right.

During my undergraduate years, I was usually the only Black student in lecture halls and laboratories. The same was true when I went to graduate school.

In fact, when I got my Ph.D. from Berkeley in 1991, I was one of only about 30 African Americans to earn a doctorate in engineering that year. I’m talking 30 in the entire United States!

I was motivated to make a difference and diversify engineering. I think we can do better. We must do better.

Because diversifying the field is imperative if we want to build on engineering’s legacy of extraordinary impacts.

The world needs engineers, innovators and leaders to address some of our greatest challenges, most of which are global in nature. The environment and global warming. Clean energy. Food production. Healthcare. Infrastructure and security.

So, moving forward, we don’t just need the next generation of engineers to solve the world’s greatest problems. We need to educate and train the next generation of diverse engineers.

At UC Davis, our Avenue E program focuses on community college transfer students pursuing engineering and computer science degrees. It provides much needed academic, co-curricular, professional development and financial support to students who need it most.

Targeted efforts like these can lead to great successes. One of the programs I helped lead at Georgia Tech was Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science - or, “FACES.” Its purpose was to increase the number of underrepresented Ph.D. recipients from Georgia Tech.

Over the duration of FACES, more than 400 minority students received Ph.D. degrees in science or engineering at Georgia Tech. At the time, that was the most in such fields in the nation.

We must also ensure that our faculty ranks are diverse as well. At UC Davis, two related programs were created with the help of an NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant.

One of those programs is our Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science, or CAMPOS. The program is now in its 10th year, with 50 Faculty Scholars spanning 34 disciplines. They are engaged in promoting diversity in STEM through their research, teaching or service to the university.

The center is focused on expanding the ranks of women and underrepresented faculty. So, we’re creating opportunity in our faculty ranks. This also has a ripple effect because these scholars serve as role models and mentors to others in our campus community.

A hands-on and inspirational education

Also, I believe that the future of engineering education must emphasize hands-on experiences with research, especially for undergraduates. It helps our students identify their interests and aptitudes. And, it gives them experience valued by employers and graduate schools.

When I was an undergraduate, we learned a lot about how to do things but not a lot about why. For example, we learned how to solve a partial differential equation with certain boundary conditions, but we didn’t know why we might need to know that.

To use a baseball analogy, we were taught how to throw, run, catch and hit the ball, but we never played a game.

Today, engineering programs need to provide internships and other experiential programs, as well as a much more sophisticated infrastructure for learning, building and testing.

At UC Davis, our College of Engineering is creating an innovation ecosystem, with numerous design clinics and programs to encourage student innovation and support multidisciplinary teams working on real world projects.

The Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center — named after a UC Davis alumna — provides a space to serve real clients through leading-edge prototyping, manufacturing and fabrication techniques. This unique environment creates a diverse and inclusive pipeline for engineers at all levels.

A Student Startup Center assists students who are interested in all stages of the entrepreneurial process. We’re also building Aggie Square on our Sacramento campus. It’s an innovation hub where students, faculty, businesses and community members will work side by side.

On another note, interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial if we want engineers to solve complex problems. When engineers team up with other disciplines, we can have greater impact. Here’s one example.

Mechanical engineers were part of a UC Davis team that created smart prosthetics and a novel amputation surgical procedure that helps patients better control their residual muscles, receive sensory feedback and reduce limb pain. The team also included specialized surgeons, neuroscientists, orthotists and prosthetists.

Finally, I want to emphasize an especially important component of engineering education: We must inspire students to harness their superpowers to create a better tomorrow.

As engineers, we solve problems. We like to create new things. We like to imagine what’s possible.

Like many of you, my fascination with engineering started as a child. I didn’t know it at the time, but my love of Lego and Erector sets were the building blocks of my career. They sparked the engineer in me and introduced me to concepts like symmetry and redundancy.

The first time I saw a flip-phone was on Star Trek. My fellow Trekkers will know that the PADD devices used by the Starfleet’s crew look a lot like the computer tablets we use today.

Some of you know I’m also a longtime fan of comic books. Right now, I’ve got more than 13,000 in my collection. And I still get to share my vast knowledge about superheroes as a regular guest speaker in a first-year engineering class at UC Davis called “Materials Marvels: The Science of Superheroes.”

The course explores the scientific credibility of superhero powers and gadgets, such as Ironman’s repulsor beam or Black Panther’s vibranium suit.

I know that Iron Man is a big influence for a lot of my fellow engineers. I think we all became engineers because we wanted to build an Iron Man suit.

Or, think of Aquaman. He can lift more than 100 tons. He can see through the ocean’s murky depths. He has biological sonar that allows him to hear the heartbeat of someone inside a submarine.

But what if we were actually able to make some of these things possible? Superheroes can inspire some of the thinking that drives innovation.

These types of things—things that excite the imagination—are so important to innovation and, I would argue, to engineering education as well. Of course, aptitude in math and science, along with the fundamentals of engineering, are necessary foundations. But imagination and inspiration are crucial for creating the next generation of extraordinary discoveries.

We share the aspiration of building something that will outlast us. Buildings, bridges, and dams might immediately come to mind to the civil engineers among us. But, I’m referring to something much more transformational. I’m talking about accelerating and advancing the innovations that make the world better for everyone.

Over the past 20 years or so, electrical and computer engineers have been hyper-focused on particular types of technologies. They’re chasing an insatiable consumer demand for more, better and faster technologies that entertain us and curate our lives on social media.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dismissing the value of consumer and entertainment technologies. I love seeing my favorite superheroes come to life on the screen through Computer Generated Imagery. I like my smartphone as much as the next person.

But here’s my great hope for the next generations of engineers and innovators. That is, apply at least as much vigor and ingenuity toward technologies that liberate people from poverty, illness and suffering — that buffer the harsher effects of climate change and help us adapt to a changing environment.

I’m simply hoping for a time when the public gets just as excited about technologies that better society as they do about those that serve the self. Engineers are at the forefront of making this happen.

In the end, inspiration is the fuel that helps students transform learning and theory into innovation and extraordinary impact.

Role Models and Mentors

Before I wrap up, I want to touch on a key part of engineering education. This is less about the classroom or research labs, but more about the importance of being role models and mentors for the next generations of engineers.

On this subject, I think of a quote that’s stuck with me from Dr. Jocelyn Elders, the former U.S. Surgeon General. She said, quote, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

All of us have needed some help along the way. We’ve all needed role models to see ourselves in the roles we dream of.

For me, one of those people was Dr. Augustine Esogbue. He’s originally from Nigeria and became the first African-American professor of engineering at Georgia Tech. He was also the first African-American in the world to earn a Ph.D. in operations research and industrial and systems engineering.

In my undergraduate years, we all wanted to be like “Dr. E.” He had it all. The sharp clothes, the fancy car, the deep intellect. I saw living proof of a Black man finding great success and respect in the engineering field.

My world opened up when he took me under his wing. I discovered a whole new range of possibilities and feeling of self-confidence that my engineering dreams were within reach.

Now, it’s all come full circle.

In 2023 at UC Davis, we created the Professor Emeritus Augustine O. Esogbue and Chancellor Gary May Endowed Award in Engineering Diversity.

The endowment supports graduate students who demonstrate a commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the field of engineering and computer science. They are also recognized for their commitment to enhancing UC Davis’ recruiting, retaining and graduating Black Ph.D. students in STEM fields.

Joining together with Dr. E like this is meaningful on both a personal and professional level. It not only immortalizes our bond, but it addresses a challenge we are both committed to fixing.

I could never thank my mentors like Dr. E enough for their encouragement and support over the years. To anyone in the room today who I’ve mentored or helped in their own paths, it’s been my honor to do so. Let’s continue to do the same for others and encourage students to look out for others as well.

Conclusion

So, I want to congratulate the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing for being a kind of Justice League for the past half-century.

You have launched thousands upon thousands of engineers and computer scientists into their fields. They have thrived as astronauts, pioneered surgical transplant techniques, held political offices and made breakthroughs in semiconductor technologies.

UC Davis and Rice University are nearly 2,000 miles apart. But we share deeply held values of advancing discoveries, fostering a campus culture built on mutual respect and supporting our university communities — both on campus and beyond.

On behalf of UC Davis, I congratulate the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing on its 50th anniversary. For a half-century, you’ve built a legacy of impact, innovation and world-class education.

Here’s to another 50 years - and many, many more … thank you!