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Guruswami Ravichandran
November 7, 2024
Guruswami Ravichandran, California Institute of Technology
Imagining and Inventing the Future of Mechanical Engineering
Time 2:30 pm
Location CBB 106

Caltech engineer, scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur Theodore von Kármán said, “Engineers create the world that never was.” Indeed, mechanical engineers are continually transforming and reshaping the world around us in ingenious ways for the benefit of society. Their contributions to technologies have resulted in applications ranging from MEMS to autonomous vehicles to energy systems. An interdisciplinary approach and the convergence of engineering science, sensing, information, systems, and artificial intelligence have enabled many recent innovations. Illustrative examples of such advances and what they foretell about the future are considered. Thoughts and observations regarding directions for research in mechanical engineering that can advance our knowledge and enable future innovations are presented. The evolution of education in mechanical engineering and curriculum development to meet future needs are discussed.

Guruswami (Ravi) Ravichandran is the John E. Goode, Jr. Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. He has served as the Otis Booth leadership Chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science and Director of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT) at Caltech. He received his B.E. (Honors) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras, Sc.M.s in Engineering and Applied Mathematics, and a Ph.D. in Engineering (Solid Mechanics and Structures) from Brown University. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and Academia Europaea. He was named Chevalier de l'ordre des Palmes Academiques by the Republic of France. His awards include the Timoshenko Medal from ASME, Eringen Medal from the Society of Engineering Science, and Murray Lecture Award from SEM. His research and teaching interests are in the mechanics of materials.

About Elizabeth D. Rockwell

Elizabeth D. Rockwell

A fourth generation Houstonian, Mrs. Rockwell was an Executive Director, Private Client Division of CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. She was widely recognized as an expert in retirement, estate, investment, and tax planning. She was an early proponent of the Keogh and IRA plans, for which she has been nationally recognized.

In 1991, she qualified to be a member of the Million Dollar Round Table as well as the Texas Leaders Round Table. Since 1990 she had authored a monthly column for the Houston Chronicle.

Mrs. Rockwell served as President of the UH College of Business Administration Foundation Board, as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, and was an Executive Professor for the college. She also served as a member of the advisory board of the Health Law and Policy Institute and as a Trustee of the University of Houston System’s Foundation, as well as a member of the UH System’s Planned Giving Council.

Mrs. Rockwell served on the Board of Governors for the Houston Forum, and as a Board member of the American Red Cross, the Greater Houston Women’s Foundation, the University of Houston Alumni Organization, and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance. She was a member of the River Oaks Business Women’s Exchange Club, the National Tax Sheltered Annuity Association, the Texas Association of College Teachers, and the Houston Association of Life Underwriters.

Among her numerous honors, she has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Houston, the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Houston Alumni Organization and from the UH College of Business Administration. Throughout the years she has been recognized for her many achievements by the Education Foundation of Harris County, the Houston Community College System’s Television Station Advisory Council, and the Houston Mayor’s READ Commission.

The Houston Alumni Center is home to the Elizabeth D. Rockwell President’s Suite. In September 1997, the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Career Services Center was opened in the UH College of Business Administration. She endowed the Chair for the Dean of the M.D. Anderson Library.

Mrs. Rockwell was listed in the Who’s Who in the South and Southwest; Who’s Who in finance and Industry; Who’s Who of American Women; and Who’s Who in the World.