CS alumnus Travis McPhail is one of two alumni to join Rice’s Engineering Advisory Board (EAB). The EAB counsels Dean Luay Nakhleh–the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering–on how Rice Engineering can best collaborate with the broader engineering industry and keep pace with advancements in the field. Shao-Lee Lin, ’88, was also named to the board.
“Shao-Lee and Travis bring to our board expertise in biotechnology and computing, and they can advise on connecting our research and education in these areas to the industry,” said Dean Nakhleh. “Furthermore, I would like to see more entrepreneurship and commercialization activities coming out of our school, and both Shao-Lee and Travis would offer tremendous advice to us in this area.”
McPhail is currently Engineering Director for Maps and Immersive Experiences at Google Maps Platform, leading technical strategy for 2D and 3D geospatial visualization products and supporting both first-party Google applications and third-party integrations across the globe– work that impacts billions of users each day.
He also advocates for Google’s diversity and inclusion efforts. In 2018, he led a team of Google designers and engineers in developing an interactive exhibit for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture that featured artifacts that were not physically on display.
At Rice, McPhail completed undergraduate degrees in computer science and electrical engineering and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science.
“As a new EAB member, my goal is to establish and enrich synergies between industry, academia, and government,” said McPhail. “With the evolving tech landscape, engineering is also evolving and our students must adapt with the change. I'm thrilled to help Rice Engineering navigate these topics and establish new relationships across software, hardware, and policy.”