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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2, 2005 | 10:00 to 11:30 AM | Olin Auditorium




Woodie Flowers
Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
Distinguished Olin Partner



Fall 2005 Big Conversations Speaker
Now that Olin is "established" with four classes of students studying, faculty and staff hired and a campus built, it's time to take a look into the future. In response to feedback from the Big Conversations wiki, Dr. Woodie Flowers has been selected to facilitate a discussion with the Olin community about our future as members of the Olin community, as Americans and as world citizens.

Dr. Woodie Flowers is the Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He received a B.S. from Louisiana Tech University and S.M., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees from MIT. His current research includes work on the creative design process and product development systems. He helped create MIT's renowned course "Introduction to Design." Dr. Flowers has received national recognition in his role as host for the PBS television series Scientific American Frontiers from 1990 to 1993 and received a New England EMMY Award for a special PBS program on design.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Daniel Webster College. He was recently selected to receive a Public Service Medal from NASA and the Tower Medallion from Louisiana Tech University. At MIT, he is a MacVicar Faculty Fellow, an honor bestowed for extraordinary contributions to undergraduate education. He was also the inaugural recipient of the Woodie Flowers Award by FIRST, a national organization that promotes youth involvement in science and technology.

Currently, Dr. Flowers is a director of four companies and is on the board of Technology Review magazine. He is a member of the Lemelson-MIT Prize Board Executive Committee, is National Advisor and Vice Chairman of the Executive Advisory Board for FIRST; and is a member of the Historical Commission in Weston, Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Margaret.

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