During the weekend of May 15-18, 2025, EEM students and faculty experienced a wonderful series of graduation celebrations, starting with the GW Engineering Doctoral Hooding ceremony on Thursday, followed by the GW Engineering 2025 Celebration of Student Achievement, and topped off by the George Washington University’s graduation ceremonies on the National Mall on Sunday, May 18.
At Friday’s GW Engineering Celebration of Student Achievement in the University’s Smith
Center, more than 4,000 parents and friends watched our students walk across the stage to be
congratulated by GW Engineering Dean John Dean. EEMI Executive Director Jonathan
Deason coordinated the event as the GW Engineering School Marshal. The event marked the
141st consecutive annual graduation of the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science and
the 204th year of the George Washington University.
This year’s graduation speaker was Mr. Chris Wiernicki, Chairman and CEO of the American Bureau of Shipping. Chris earned his Master of Science degree in structural engineering from GW Engineering in 1983. In 2021, Chris became just the 7th GW Engineering alum ever to be elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, which is the highest professional honor for engineers in our country. The next year, he was selected as a member of the Marine Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In December 2024, Chris was named to Lloyd’s List of the Top 100 People in Shipping, which highlights the most influential individuals in the shipping industry around the world. In 2022, he was named to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, advising the White House on improving the resilience and security of critical infrastructure. Internationally, Chris was selected to join Singapore’s Maritime International Advisory Panel, where he shapes policy at the global level.
In 2023, he was awarded the GREEN4SEA Leadership Award, recognizing his leadership and contributions toward a more sustainable shipping industry. He is a Fellow with the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and serves on numerous university boards and advisory councils, including our schools own National Advisory Council. Chris is a member of the International Maritime Hall of Fame and the GW Engineering Hall of Fame.
Chris inspired the graduates with five key leadership principles, which he learned through his own personal and professional experiences and those of his father, a resistance fighter in Poland during World War II. Mr. Wiernicki has had an incredible career of leadership and impact in the maritime industry, and he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to GW Engineering by creating invaluable opportunities for our students and faculty. Thisyear’s student speaker was Talia Novack, who moved the audience similarly.
Talia graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science and contributed to the GW Engineering community in a variety of ways during her student years, including serving as an undergraduate teaching assistant. She shared a message of resilience and taking chances, and of how GW engineers and computer scientists build something greater than themselves. In his remarks, Dean Lach challenged the graduates to “develop technology that not only moves our communities forward, but all communities, and technology that supports a sustainable environment for the next generation of communities…” and “to remain curious and acquire and2:71 create new knowledge. This means you should never stop learning, growing and expanding your community.”
SEAS Dean John Lach charged the graduating students with one last request. He said “As you go forth from GW today, do so with optimism for the future. The most important thing you can do as you begin the next phase of your life is to Be Yourself! Let your intuition, your skills and the knowledge you have gained at the School of Engineering and Applied Science guide you. Make the world a better place. Everything we do as engineers and computer scientists can have a profound and positive impact on our colleagues, communities, families, friends, and future generations.” The final event of the graduation weekend was the full University’s ceremony on the National Mall on Sunday, May 18. More than 25,000 students, parents and friends covered the Mall in perfect weather for that celebration.