Edward K. and Linda L. Rice Endowed Term Chair

The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has received a $500,000 gift from Edward K. and Linda L. Rice to establish a new endowed faculty term chair in materials science and engineering.

The holder of the Edward K. and Linda L. Rice Endowed Term Chair in Materials Science will have research interests in materials science and engineering, specifically in the field of cementatious materials.

"To remain one of the top engineering schools in the country, it is critical that we continue to recruit and retain junior faculty with exceptional promise," said Vijay K. Dhir, dean of UCLA Engineering. "Endowed term chairs help the school in these efforts, and we are extremely grateful that the Rices, who are great friends of the university and the school, have chosen to support this goal with their generous gift."

Edward Rice, chairman of CTS Cement Manufacturing Co., a manufacturer of innovative cement products, is a longtime and generous supporter of UCLA Engineering. He is a member of the UCLA Engineering Dean's Advisory Council and received the UCLA Engineering Alumni Association Service Award in 2002. Previous gifts from Rice include a school conference room, funds for the annual UCLA Engineering Outstanding Student Awards and for annual scholarships for undergraduate engineering students, and sponsorship of the school's concrete canoe team. Linda Rice is also involved with UCLA and is a past president of the UCLA Plato Society.

"Linda and I are proud of our long association with UCLA, and we are very pleased that this gift for an endowed chair will benefit UCLA Engineering, its faculty and students," Rice said.

Rice began his professional career at UCLA in 1951, when he joined the engineering faculty as a lecturer. In 1957, he left UCLA to co-found the engineering firm T.Y. Lin and Associates, where he was president for 17 years. From 1986 to 1990, he was a UCLA adjunct professor of materials science and engineering. Today, as chairman of CTS Cement Manufacturing Co., he holds 18 patents in concrete and building technology.

"There is a great need for research and application in the science of cementatious materials," Rice said. "Applied research on the development of new and longer-lasting materials is needed to provide better infrastructure, especially in our transportation systems."

This endowed term chair is part of UCLA Engineering's Enhancing Engineering Excellence (E3) initiative, a $100 million fundraising effort aimed at generating new endowed faculty chairs, graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships, as well as funds for capital projects and diversity initiatives. It is also part of UCLA's Ensuring Academic Excellence initiative, a five-year effort aimed at generating $250 million in private commitments, specifically for the recruitment and retention of the very best faculty and graduate students. The initiative was launched in June 2004 and its goals include $100 million to fund 100 new endowed chairs for faculty across campus.

Authors: M. Chin & W.W. Kromhout; from the UCLA Engineering: News Center

03-03-2008