Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/489418
t m c » p u l s e | a p r i l 2 0 1 5 13 We are on the tissue engineering landscape. We are on the nanoscience and nanotechnology landscape. We are on the health policy landscape. But we can do that much more effectively by leveraging what we do with other institutions, with each of these institu- tions identifying the areas where they are leaders and the areas where they are highly valued collaborators. And, frankly, it is important to be able to distinguish between those two. Q | Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future at Rice? A | I think we are looking at a lot of things. One, higher education is being transformed, and Rice is really well positioned for that. Many people today talk about the threat to higher educa- tion from technology, but I like to talk about the opportunity from technol- ogy. I have used two pie charts to suggest that in 1985, 75 percent of the value proposition of higher education was around the classroom experience. But in 2025, that will be reduced to 25 percent of the value proposition, although it will still be very important. A group of Rice students went out on their own, after I did this, and they surveyed their fellow students, and because of the way it was done, they had a 99 percent response rate. They asked the students, 'What do you see as the value proposition on your edu- cation?' The pie chart they produced from the actual data and my made-up pie chart were nearly identical. I had only made one mistake in my clairvoy- ance, and that was instead of it being in 2025, it was in 2015. We have to deliver more to our students, and not just more but more effective research experience, mentoring experiences, international experience, entrepre- neurial opportunities and internships. That's going to be an exciting time for universities. The second set of things is the research that we can participate in. Rice is a small place. It has this opportunity to bring things together. So we are developing our strategy around big data. And that's not just going to involve medicine in a big way, but also energy, urban studies and human- ities research. So that's a lot to come together. We are looking at a new effort in materials. In the biomedical area, if you are going to be putting materials into people's bodies, they had better be precisely the right materials. And in the energy area, where you have problems with corrosion, or the environment— dealing with issues around fracking, for example—we need to create materials specifically designed for the task. We are a leader in materials science and nanotechnology, and we are going to be an even stronger leader in that area. The Kinder Institute and urban policy is another area I am very excited about. Our new director, Bill Fulton, brings precisely the right experiences to amp up our contribution to understand- ing urban problems and to contribute to Houston's solutions to those problems. So when I look at it, it's the three missions of research, education and service. And these missions are coming closer and overlapping more than they ever were before. Great research univer- sities have been both engines of oppor- tunity for individuals and a primary source of new ideas and innovation for our society. We need to ensure that we continue to play these roles in the most effective way possible. And that's what makes it exciting to be here. You are creating opportunities for young people and solving the prob- lems of the world. What more could you ask for? Q | Any closing thoughts? A | We are very excited about what's happening in the TMC under Bobby Robbins' leadership. We think this is a great step forward for the city, and we look forward to participating in that.