Events

Reginald DesRoches is Rice University’s eighth president. He also serves as professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and professor of Mechanical Engineering. As president, DesRoches serves as the chief executive officer of the university and its more than 8,200 students, 900 plus faculty, seven academic schools, the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, and many interdisciplinary institutes and centers. He previously served as Rice’s Howard Hughes Provost and William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering.
DesRoches’ primary research interests are in the design of resilient infrastructure systems under extreme loads and the application of smart materials. He has published approximately 300 articles and delivered more than 100 presentations in over 30 different countries. He also has mentored more than 30 doctoral students, many of whom hold faculty positions at top universities around the world.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, DesRoches’ distinctive research record has been recognized for its impact and innovation. He is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Structural Engineering Institute. He received the Distinguished Arnold Kerr Lecturer Award in 2019, the John A. Blume Distinguished Lecturer Award in 2018, and the 2018 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Distinguished Lecturer Award, one of the highest honors in the field of earthquake engineering. DesRoches is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in Civil Engineering at Berkeley and an honorary alumnus of Georgia Tech.

JOIN VIRTUALLY ===> March 9, 2023

Come join us for an informal Happy Hour located at Second Draught at the ION!

This is a bi-monthly event for all club members, guests & prospective members to get together in a casual setting and learn more about Rotary and what Rotary has to offer!

This event is hosted by the Satellite Club of the Rotary Club of Houston, otherwise known as the Rotary Club of Innovation

Second Draught is a beer hall that recently opened on the first floor at the ION. 

Parking is available in the main parking lot in front of Second Draught or across the street in the gated parking area. You can press the call button when you pull up to the gate and they will let you in the gated lot after hours.

Delivering Health and Hope Around the World

Each week Project C.U.R.E. delivers approximately three to five semi-truck-sized ocean containers packed with the medical equipment and supplies desperately needed to save lives in hospitals and clinics in resource-limited countries. Janet Thomason and Jo Sullivan will share a behind the scenes look at how this lifesaving work is accomplished.  Both Janet and Jo will talk about their first hand experiences working in communities across the US and across the world. 

Looking to make a difference in your community? Join our service project at Blodgett Urban Garden! Located in the heart of Houston's 3rd Ward, our organic garden is fighting hunger and food insecurity one plant at a time.

We need volunteers like you to help us maintain and cultivate our garden, which provides fresh, healthy produce to our neighbors in need. By working together, we can make a real impact on the lives of those in our community who are struggling to put food on the table.

No gardening experience is necessary - just a willingness to get your hands dirty and make a difference. So why not spend your free time doing something meaningful? Join our team of volunteers today and help us fight hunger in the 3rd Ward!

email rotarycoinnovation@gmail.com with your phone number, and shift number to RSVP.

After we will relax and re-charge at the West Alabama Ice House.

Shift 1: 8:30AM-10:30AM

Shift 2:10:30AM-12:30PM

Sanjay Ramabhadran’s (Rahm-bud-run) leadership roles with Houston’s influential civic and business organizations have uniquely positioned him to help steer METRO’s future.

As chair of METRO’s Capital and Strategic Planning Committee, Sanjay helped oversee the planning, design, construction, and launch of major projects that enhance mobility throughout the region. These projects include a multi-million dollar program that goes far beyond the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ensuring universal accessibility for all passengers. Sanjay has worked to expand the METRO bus rapid transit service to include the Inner Katy Line, which would provide the much-needed connection between Uptown and downtown, and the University Line, which would be the longest Bus Rapid Transit line in the nation. He is working to enhance the travel time, reliability and access for 17 of METRO’s high ridership bus routes as part of the BOOST initiative.

A Registered Professional Engineer, he has served in senior executive and board roles with global and regional firms delivering transportation, water, and flood mitigation projects for 25 years. He brings this knowledge to METRO at a time when the agency is implementing a $3.5 billion bond program, METRONext, approved by voters in 2019.

Sanjay has served as President of The Texas Lyceum, an organization that brings together diverse opinions and expertise to focus on issues of critical importance to the future of Texas and catalyzes constructive private sector, public sector and individual responses to these issues. He is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Leadership Houston, a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, and former President of the HESS Club and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston.

Sanjay’s talent for bringing business and civic leaders together to tackle big challenges has been a hallmark of his leadership from an early age. As such, in 2012 he was recognized among Ten Outstanding Young Americans(Open external link) by the United States Junior Chamber.

He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and a proud father and husband. He and his wife live in Houston, and their sons attend public schools.

JOIN VIRTUALLY ===> MARCH 30, 2023

This meeting is to discuss the invoice from Mark Oathout.

2023 Recipient - MD Anderson Cancer Center being honored. $250 Donation = Ticket.  Event is being underwitten so 100% of proceeds raised will go to support Rotary Service Projects.

Dr. Shah holds the Barbara & Corbin J. Robertson Jr. Chair in Psychiatry, and is Executive Vice Chair and Professor of Psychiatry, Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas, and Chief of Psychiatry for Ben Taub Hospital/Harris Health System. He is also Chief, Division of Community Psychiatry & Director of Mood Disorder Research Program at Ben Taub Hospital.  

He has received two Fulbright and Jaworski Awards, one for "Teaching and Evaluation" in 2012, and the other for "Educational Leadership" in 2014. He further received the “Rising Star Clinician Award" from Baylor in 2014. He received the Children Mental Health Champion AWARD from Mental Health America in 2018. He was appointed to the Texana Center Board of Trustees in August 2019.

Dr. Shah has done numerous media presentations to National and International Radio/TV/Newspapers and has widely presented both nationally and internationally. He is seen on FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, PBS as an expert analyst.  He has about 170 peer reviewed publications and chapters to his credit and two books. He has been named by Houstonia magazine and Castle Connolly on their Top Doctors list for Houston since 2013 every year, and received it in 2023 also. He has received the prestigious “Clark Faculty Service Award” from Baylor College of Medicine in 2020, for his services for the community, and also received “Allies of Women of Excellence award”. He is the past Chair for Mental Health America of Greater Houston and Ibn Sina Advisory Board. Currently he is board Chair for Alliance Texas, a refugees settlement agency and in 2021 he was appointed as Board Chair for Recovery Center Houston/Sobering Center by Mayor of Houston for a 3 year term. In 2020, he received "Medal of Honor" from Government of Pakistan, and was included in Foreign Minister's Honor roll list. Pakistan Psychiatric society named him "Most Eminent Psychiatrist" in 2020.

He received the prestigious Imma Hogg Award from Mental Health America for 2022, joining the club of William P. Hobby, and John P. McGovern. In 2023, American Psychiatric Association (APA) board of trustees elected him as a Distinguished Fellow of APA.