James F. Young, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University, died May 28 in Hawaii. He was 81. A respected experimentalist, educator and mentor, Young is remembered for his enduring commitment to undergraduate teaching and engineering education.
Trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, Young was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Optical Society of America. His research explored the development of new optical and photonic devices with the potential to address scientific and technical problems.
Young joined Rice’s faculty in 1990 after two decades at Stanford, where he served as a research professor of electrical engineering. At Rice, he led research in photonics and later turned his focus to undergraduate teaching and mentorship, leading senior design courses and helping establish initiatives that expanded the role of engineering education in the undergraduate experience. He retired in 2011.
“Jim was a thoughtful colleague and a generous teacher,” said Behnaam Aazhang, the J.S. Abercrombie Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “He was deeply committed to students and had a quiet but steady influence on our department for many years.”
Marcia O’Malley, the Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor in Mechanical Engineering, said Young was a key figure in efforts to improve engineering education. He chaired a task force in the mid-2000s aimed at reimagining the undergraduate experience — work that laid the groundwork for programs focused on hands-on learning and professional development, including the founding of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership.
“He was passionate about the undergraduate experience at Rice, particularly academic advising in engineering,” O’Malley said. “Jim always had a smile to share and took time to check on me from time to time as I was early in my career at Rice when we interacted.”
Carolyn Nichol, associate research professor of chemistry and director of the Office of STEM Engagement, said Young’s impact extended well beyond the university.
“He was dedicated to teaching engineering at every level,” she said. “He was passionate about teaching K–12 teachers about the engineering design process and ran professional development workshops for middle and high school teachers. He also made engineering accessible and fun through his Lego Lab course at Rice.”
The course’s final presentations, she added, became a tradition for her family.
“They were so fun and creative — just like Dr. Young,” Nichol said.
In addition to his technical achievements, Young was a familiar presence in the Rice community. He and his wife Cecily served as longtime associates at Martel and Hanszen Colleges, earning recognition for their support of student life. He also worked behind the scenes on campus theater productions and rewired Hamman Hall during a sabbatical.
“Jim represented the best of what faculty emeriti can be — deeply knowledgeable, personally generous and quietly impactful,” said Luay Nakhleh, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing.