The George W. Woodruff Distinguished Lecture
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Annual Distinguished Lecture was established in 1990 to honor an engineer who has made a significant contribution to society and to provide a forum for that person to interact with the Georgia Tech community.
Support for the lecture is made possible by the generosity of the late George W. Woodruff, an alumnus and influential Atlanta businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist. In September 1985, at the age of 90, Mr. Woodruff attended the ceremonies to rename the School of Mechanical Engineering in his honor. Today, the Woodruff benevolence continues to benefit Georgia Tech through the support of two major scholarship funds and a significant unrestricted endowment. The Woodruff bequest to the School of Mechanical Engineering underwrites two faculty chairs -- the George W. Woodruff Chair in Mechanical Systems and the George W. Woodruff Chair in Thermal Systems -- two professors, nine Woodruff Faculty Fellows, and activities such as the Woodruff Faculty Teaching Fellows Program, the Woodruff Graduate Fellowship Program, the Woodruff Teaching Intern Program, and research and teaching assistantships for graduate students.
2018: Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation
Impact of the Factory of the Future - A Retrospective
2017: Albert P. Pisano, Professor and Dean, Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego
TSensors Technology: Research, Incubation, and Education
2015: Arun Majumdar, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
Options to Create a Sustainable Energy Future
2013: James Truchard, Co-founder, President, and CEO of National Instruments
Mechanical Engineering: Leading the Way to Intelligent System Design
2012: Amy Alving, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President at Science Applications International Corp (SAIC)
The Invention-to-Innovation Lifecycle
2010: C. D. “Dan” Mote, Jr., President and Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
Innovation: What’s the Problem?
2008: Bernard Armadei, Founder, Engineers Without Borders-USA, Director, Engineering for Developing Communities Program & Professor, University of Colorado
The Role of Engineers in Poverty Reduction: Challenges and Opportunities
2007: Steven Koonin, Chief Scientist, BP
Energy Trends and Technologies for the Coming Decades
2005: Thomas Christopher, President and CEO, Framatome ANP, Inc. and CEO and Vice Chairman, AREVA Enterprises, Inc.
The Energy Highway - Where Does Your Road Lead?
2003: John Brooks Slaughter, President and CEO, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME)
The Search for Excellence and Equity in Higher Education:A Perspective From An Engineer
2002: John H. Sununu, Former Governor of New Hampshire and Former White House Chief of Staff
The Engineer in the Public Policy Arena
2001: Euan Baird, President and CEO, Schlumberger
Diversity - Who Needs It?
2000: William A. Wulf, National Academy of Engineering
The Societal Responsibility of Engineers (And Its Implications for Engineering Education)
1999: George Heilmeier, Chairman Emeritus, Telcordia Technologies
From POTS to PANS.com-- Transitions in the World of Telecommunications for the Late 1990s and Beyond
1998: Robert Lutz, Vice Chairman, Chrysler Corporation,
Lutz's Laws: A Primer for the Business Side of Engineering
1997: Charles M. Vest, President and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
What We Don't Know: Challenges for the Next Generation
1996: Norman R. Augustine, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Lockheed-Martin Corporation
Yes, But Will It Work In Theory?
1995: James J. Duderstadt, President, The University of Michigan
The Government-University Research Partnership: Beyond the Endless Frontier
1994: Roberto C. Goizueta, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
Giving The World More Than Just a Soft Drink
1993: Sheila E. Widnall, Associate Provost and Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
Women in Engineering: Choices, Changes, and Contributions
1992: Chang-Lin Tien, Chancellor, University of California at Berkeley
Looking Ahead: Engineering Education for the Twenty-First Century
1991: Samuel C. Florman, Author and Professional Engineer
1990: Donald E. Petersen, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ford Motor Company