The Marvin Roush Fellowship: A Foundation for Progress in Risk and Reliability

Through his development of the Clark School's first core curriculum in risk and reliability, Professor Emeritus Marvin Roush (Ph.D. '64, physics) laid the groundwork for the world-class Center for Risk and Reliability (CRR) that we know today. Since 1991, CRR has trained over 470 reliability engineers and has produced prominent instructors and alumni through the exceptional research efforts established in the department. Graduates have gone on to lead reliability divisions in places such as Amazon Lab126, Ford Motor Company, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Dr. Roush is known for his empathetic approach to teaching, and keeps in touch with many of his former students to this day. As a reflection of his passion for reliability engineering and heartfelt care for future generations of students, Dr. Roush - together with Dr. Mohammad Modarres, Director of CRR - established the Marvin Roush Fellowship in Risk and Reliability in 2013. Over 50 alumni have also contributed to the fund, honoring Dr. Roush's investment in them and the field.

The Marvin Roush Fellowship in Risk and Reliability provides reliability engineering graduate students with the financial means to achieve their educational dreams. The fellowship ensures the success of both students and the program by attracting the most talented graduate student candidates within the field of risk and reliability.

This fellowship pays tribute to Dr. Roush’s incredible legacy and fortitude in starting this Center. It will help support the next generation of reliability engineers, and we’re looking forward to announcing the first award recipient in the fall of 2021.

Dr. Mohammad Modarres, Director of CRR

Dr. Roush saw the need for a standalone program for risk and reliability within the Clark School. It was evident that rapid developments had been made recently in the field of risk-assessment techniques. Additionally, there were increasing demands for ultrareliable products. These needs were obvious to employers in the medical, automotive, aviation, space and nuclear industries. In fact, few manufacturers survive unless their products are known to be reliable and safe.

As a result, the Reliability Engineering Program at the University of Maryland became the first of its kind. Thanks to Dr. Roush’s insistence of creation and continued support of the program, it remains a worldwide leader in the field today. The Roush Fellowship will encourage the program to grow, providing skills to reliability engineering students that they could not receive anywhere else.

“This fellowship pays tribute to Dr. Roush’s incredible legacy and fortitude in starting this Center,” said Dr. Mohammad Modarres, Director of CRR. “It will help support the next generation of reliability engineers, and we’re looking forward to announcing the first award recipient in the fall of 2021.”

If you would like to honor Dr. Roush’s legacy by contributing to the Roush Fellowship, here is how you can donate.

Published June 24, 2021