2024 Hall of Fame Inductees

Tasha Higgins developed her love for civil engineering while attending UC Irvine. Once a mechanical engineering major, she changed her major to civil when a professor piqued her interest regarding traffic on the I-405. She changed her major freshman year and never looked back. In college, she was an active member in the National Society of Black Engineers, including serving as UCI chapter vice president, president and West Coast regional membership chair.

Today with three decades of experience in traffic, transportation and construction projects, Higgins has led program initiatives and capital projects through all phases of a project lifecycle. She has worked in multiple industries including ports, aviation, rail and highways. Higgins’ professional career started as a student intern at Caltrans, and she was hired by Caltrans upon graduation. Higgins has worked for public and private firms including the Port of Long Beach as the director of the Program Management Division overseeing a $2.3 billion capital improvement program and Los Angeles County Metro administering the $20 billion Measure R Highway Program. In 2011, she became the founding principal and chief executive officer of HigginsWorks LLC, a successful project and construction management firm. She employed engineers and mentored many to start their careers. Today, she is back with Caltrans working as principal engineer leading the planning, design and implementation of improvements to state and federal highway facilities in preparation for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Higgins obtained her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1993 from the Samueli School of Engineering. She obtained a master of business administration with highest honors from the Cromwell School of Business at Biola University in 2017. She has been a board-certified civil engineer with the state of California since 2003 and a certified project management professional since 2009. In 2015, she developed a curriculum and taught project management principals to unemployed engineers at Southwest Community College in Los Angeles. She was recognized as one of 50 Phenomenal Engineers by the Los Angeles Council of Black Professional Engineers in 2019 and she is also a member of the Leadership Long Beach class of 2022. Finally, in 2023 she was humbled to serve as UCI’s Mace Marshall at the school of engineering graduation.

Higgins’ passion is speaking to young people and encouraging them to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) majors and careers. She was born and raised in Southern California and lives in Gardena, California. After work she enjoys spending quality time with her husband and their five energetic teenagers, serving in her church, helping her husband run a women and children’s shelter and anticipating her new role as board member of Claris Health.

Rabi Narula has been an intellectual property attorney and partner at Knobbe Martens, one of America's largest intellectual property and technology law firms, for over 25 years. Narula has developed intellectual property portfolios and strategies for clients involved in a wide range of technologies including medical devices, semiconductor fabrication, food science, automobile technologies and robotics. Within the medical device space, Narula has been the lead IP counsel with emerging and large companies in the aesthetics, cardiovascular, spine, dental and prosthetic fields.

Narula’s career began with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from UC Irvine in 1992 followed by a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford in 1993. Narula then worked as a research engineer for ABB Power Plant Laboratories in Windsor, Connecticut, where he was responsible for testing and developing advanced coal, oil and gas burners.

In 1996, Narula decided to change careers and attend UCLA School of Law, obtaining his JD in 1999 and graduating as one of the top 10 students in his class, a member of the Order of the Coif honor society and receiving the American Jurisprudence Bancroft-Whitney Award in Intellectual Property.

Since 1999, Narula has been an attorney at Knobbe Martens, making partner in 2004. He is known for his deep knowledge of patent rules and procedures, responsiveness, hard work and optimism even when faced with difficult challenges. His strategic solutions and absolute commitment to his clients’ needs create relationships of trust. At his core, Narula is a lawyer, an engineer, a technology enthusiast and a “people person” who enjoys helping his clients succeed. After 25 wonderful years at Knobbe Martens, Narula will be retiring from the practice of law in the spring of 2024 and is looking forward to taking on new challenges.

Narula is married to Patty Le Narula who he met at UCI. They are both passionate about their alma mater and are involved in several alumni organizations including Anteaters in Law, Engineering Alumni Society and UCI Alumni Association.  Rabi and Patty have two children (Quan and Milan) who are attending college.

Jean-Pierre Delplanque has served as vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies at the University of California Davis since January 2019. Prior to that, he served as associate dean for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in graduate studies and as associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Engineering. As a leader in graduate education, he supports the development of inclusive, equitable learning environments for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars so that they are equipped to spearhead discoveries with global impact.

Vice Provost and Dean Delplanque is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. His research and educational activities focus on the modeling and numerical simulation of complex fluid and thermal
processes such as rocket propulsion, respiratory flows and additive manufacturing.

A first-generation college graduate, Delplanque earned an engineering diploma from Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Electrotechnique, d’Electronique, d’Informatique, d’Hydraulique et des Télécommunications (ENSEEIHT) in Toulouse, France; a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in mechanics from the National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France; and a master’s degree and doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from UC Irvine.