C. Fred Higgs, III is the John & Ann Doerr Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University, where he is also the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. He is also a Joint Professor with the Bioengineering Department, and the Faculty Director of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL). At Rice, he is also a co-founder of the Additive Manufacturing, Performance, and Tribology (AMPT) Center and the faculty director of the Master of Engineering Management & Leadership (MEML) degree. He is an Associate Editor for the STLE Tribology Transactions journal and his Particle Flow & Tribology Laboratory (PFTL) conducts computer modeling and experiments. A Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), he is the past recipient of an NSF CAREER ‘Young Investigator’ award, and the ASME Burt L. Newkirk award (given annually to a single tribology innovator). Professor Higgs has published over 100 archival papers and generated licensable intellectual properties in concert. He has been the research advisor to 120 undergraduate, 30 Masters, 20 doctoral, and 5 postdoctoral research students. He is a frequent invited speaker on issues related to engineering leadership, Industry 4.0, and faculty development and flourishing at research institutions.