Rice University Hosts US Navy Research Official for On-Campus Visit
Rice University welcomed Brett Seidle, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, test and engineering, on a campus visit Oct.13.
Seidle met with a group of cadets in the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) then toured the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. Seidle also met with Rice President Reginald DesRoches. Vinod Veedu, executive director of Rice’s National Security Research Accelerator (RUNSRA), led the visit alongside Nathan Cook, Rice’s director of government relations.
The visit underscores a commitment by the university to deepen and broaden the scope of its research collaboration with the United States Navy and help advance scientific discovery and engineering innovation goals aligned with national security objectives.
“At RUNSRA, our mission is to enhance national security by accelerating the discovery, development and transition of technologies for dual-use applications through collaborations across the board,” Veedu said. “Rice is uniquely positioned to offer significant contributions to national security, and leadership visits like this are a great opportunity for us to share some of the high impact transformative research works.”
Capt. Jeffrey Bowman, commanding officer of the Houston NROTC Consortium, said “the Rice Navy ROTC Unit was thankful that DASN Seidle had time to meet with our junior officers and midshipmen.”
“It is increasingly vital for our future officers to be aware of the important work accomplished by the Department of the Navy in areas beyond the waterfront and flightlines,” Bowman said. “Senior leader engagements like this help our future leaders better understand how the big Navy works.”
