NEWS: Olin President Gilda Barabino receives Rice Distinguished Alumni Award

April 6, 2023

Olin College President, Dr. Gilda A. Barabino, will be honored by her alma mater with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award.

The Laureates Award Program is the highest honor given by the Association of Rice Alumni. The awards reception will take place on May 4, 2023.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is given by the Association of Rice Alumni to honor alumni who have advanced the interests and standards of excellence of the university through distinctive professional or volunteer careers.

Barabino was the first African American student admitted to the chemical engineering graduate program at Rice University in 1981 and earned her Ph.D. in 1986. Barabino became only the fifth Black woman in the country to earn a doctorate in the field.

After decades of achievement in engineering education, on July 1, 2020, Barabino became the second president of Olin College, which is dedicated to educating the next generation of engineering innovators who recognize needs, design solutions, and engage in creative enterprises for the good of the world.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Distinguished Alumni Award from Rice and honored to be in the company of my fellow Rice alumni honorees,” said Barabino. “At Rice and in my career as a Black female chemical engineer, I have often been a ‘first.’ I am proud that my education helped me pave the way for others and create more opportunities in STEM, ensuring that I will not be the ‘last.’”

An internationally recognized thought leader and highly sought-after speaker and consultant on race/ethnicity and gender in science and engineering, Barabino uses a particular focus on creating cultures and climates that support a sense of belonging. She is a passionate advocate for equity in science and engineering and leads national efforts to engage engineers in thinking about how to break down barriers.

Barabino is the co-chair of the NASEM committee that wrote the groundbreaking 2023 report, Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations: Beyond Broadening Participation, urging action from higher education institutions and STEMM organizations to change their organizational cultures and environment in order to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in STEMM fields.

A chemical engineer by training, with broad interests in global health and interdisciplinary research and education, Barabino has pioneered new engineering approaches to problems in medicine. Her seminal research in sickle cell disease has informed current technologies and formed the basis for novel therapies.

In recognition of her visionary leadership and outstanding professional achievement, Barabino has received many of the highest honors in academia. She is the past-president and current chair of the board of directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest interdisciplinary scientific society. In 2021, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine. Barabino is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Biomedical Engineering Society. 

The Laureates Awards Program was created by the Association of Rice Alumni in 1937 to recognize highly distinguished individuals for extraordinary achievements and contributions to their professions, local communities, and Rice University.