• CERAWEEK
  • March 10 - 14, 2025

C. Fred Higgs III

Rice University

Professor of Mechanical Engineering

C. Fred Higgs, III is the John & Ann Doerr Professor of Mechanical Engineering, the Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, and the Faculty Director of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL) at Rice University. An ASME Fellow, he received his B.S. degree from Tennessee State University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; all of his degrees in mechanical engineering. His research focuses on the study of tribology. In the energy area, this research extends to the prediction of drilling rates in oil & gas, the extraction of renewable oil from algae, and additive manufacturing of next-generation drilling technologies. A Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), he is a past recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER award (for the nation’s best young scientists and engineering scholars), and the ASME Burt L. Newkirk award (for a stellar Tribology researcher under 40). He has published over 100 archival papers and has been the research advisor to over 150 undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. As faculty director for RCEL, he is leading a team of faculty (many being former Energy executives) to develop the next-generation of leaders in engineering and technology.

Sessions With C. Fred Higgs III

Tuesday, 12 March