[MUSIC] Hello, my name is David Van Kleeck. I'm a professor in the practice in the Center for Engineering Leadership at Rice University. Here on campus, I teach two courses. An undergraduate course for freshmen and sophomores. And a higher level course for seniors and graduate students. But a little bit about myself first. I too am an engineer. I did my undergraduate studies at Princeton University and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering in 1973. While I was at Princeton, I was enrolled in ROTC, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant when I graduated. After graduation, I was stationed by the army in Italy and Germany. For four years before I decided to return to graduate school here at Rice University, and I finished my PhD here in 1981. Following my studies here at Rice, I joined Shell Oil Company as a research engineer, and spent over 34 years doing individual research, and as a manager in their organization. During my last 15 years at Shell, I also was a campus recruit. So I had many opportunities to be on campus, to interview students looking for those skills that I thought would help those candidates fit best into Shell's organization. I was specifically interested in their leadership abilities. I also draw in my leadership philosophy, from my experience as a Boy Scout Adult Leader. So you will see throughout the specialization that I will use concepts from military, industry, and my Boy Scout experience to present to you those skills that I think will be most valuable for you as an engineering leader. As I close, I'd like to leave you with this thought, and it comes from my LinkedIn profile. I help engineers learn leadership skills so they can leverage their creative and technical skills to make a better world for all of us. My passion is teaching and my joy is seeing others use what I showed them. [MUSIC]
