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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The George R. Brown School of Engineering and |
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| 8 | 9 | | Computing at Rice University in Houston is celebrating its 50th |
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| 9 | 10 | | anniversary in 2025; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, An integral component of the university's rich |
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| 11 | 12 | | legacy, engineering has been a central focus since it was founded as |
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| 12 | 13 | | the Rice Institute in 1912; its first engineering degrees were |
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| 13 | 14 | | conferred in 1916, and over the years, the course of study grew to |
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| 14 | 15 | | include a variety of different programs, degrees, and research |
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| 15 | 16 | | opportunities; by the late 1960s, the school had been the site of a |
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| 16 | 17 | | number of significant engineering advancements, including the |
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| 17 | 18 | | installation of a nuclear reactor and the development of the first |
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| 18 | 19 | | artificial heart; and |
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| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, George R. Brown was elected to the Rice Board of |
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| 20 | 21 | | Trustees in 1943, and in 1950, he became the first alumnus to be |
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| 21 | 22 | | named its chair; during his tenure, he oversaw the construction of |
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| 22 | 23 | | Fondren Library, Anderson Hall, and the Abercrombie Engineering |
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| 23 | 24 | | Laboratory, as well as the opening of a 70,000-seat football |
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| 24 | 25 | | stadium; in 1968, his foundation pledged some $4 million to the |
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| 25 | 26 | | school of engineering, and he traveled around the country to |
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| 26 | 27 | | solicit further donations to a $33 million capital campaign from |
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| 27 | 28 | | alumni of the newly redesignated William Marsh Rice University; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, In 1975, the school's science-engineering division |
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| 29 | 30 | | was divided into the George R. Brown School of Engineering and the |
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| 30 | 31 | | School of Natural Sciences; guided by inaugural Rice president |
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| 31 | 32 | | Edgar O. Lovett's "no upper limit" maxim, the engineering school |
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| 32 | 33 | | has since been named among the top programs in the country; it has |
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| 33 | 34 | | merited this distinction by focusing on interdisciplinary |
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| 34 | 35 | | solutions that integrate sciences, humanities, architecture, and |
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| 35 | 36 | | business; the school encompasses nine academic departments, and its |
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| 36 | 37 | | research efforts are further enriched by 22 engineering-related |
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| 37 | 38 | | institutes and centers; ably guided since 2021 by its dean, Luay |
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| 38 | 39 | | Nakhleh, nearly one-third of Rice undergraduate and graduate |
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| 39 | 40 | | students belong to the engineering and computing school; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of a half century, the |
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| 41 | 42 | | George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing has provided a |
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| 42 | 43 | | number of students with a strong foundation on which to build |
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| 43 | 44 | | rewarding professional careers, and it is indeed worthy of special |
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| 44 | 45 | | recognition at this significant milestone in its history; now, |
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| 45 | 46 | | therefore, be it |
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| 46 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 47 | 48 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the |
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| 48 | 49 | | George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing at Rice |
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| 49 | 50 | | University and extend to all those affiliated with the school |
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| 50 | 51 | | sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
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| 51 | 52 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 52 | 53 | | prepared for the George R. Brown School of Engineering and |
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| 53 | 54 | | Computing as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of |
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| 54 | 55 | | Representatives. |
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