The ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility

The ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility was completed in February 2010 as a one-of-a-kind building in the College of Engineering where students can benefit from real-world interdisciplinary experience. In addition to OU students, K-12 students are frequent visitors, inspiring them to become tomorrow's engineers and scientists. , The building is named for Lawrence G. Rawl, an OU graduate who served as Chairman and CEO of the Exxon Corporation. Rawl was born in Lyndhurst, N.J., on May 4, 1928, the fifth of six children. He enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1952 with a degree in petroleum engineering. He then worked as a drilling engineer in southern Texas for the Humble Oil and Refining Company, a predecessor to the Exxon Company USA. Promotions took him to New York, Houston and London. He became a director and senior vice president of Exxon Corporation in 1980. He was named president in 1985 and became chairman and chief executive two years later. Rawl spent 39 years at Exxon and was chairman and chief executive from 1987 to 1993. Under his leadership, Exxon sealed down and reduced costs by selling subsidiaries, closing service stations and moving its headquarters from Manhattan to Irving, Texas. It also expanded its chemical operations and increased its oil and gas reserves largely by exploring sites in Africs and Asia. , The two-story, 41,000-square-food ExonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility includes a 10,000-square-foot area where students can design and build engineering projects and senior capstone projects. It is also home to the nationally recognized K-20 Engineering Education Program. This facility serves as a teaching/work environment for the College's educational initiatives to recruit more young people to study math and science. , With the completion of the Engineering Practice Facility, many of the student groups have been able to work on their projects here using hands-on design activities. The Practice Facility brings together all of the disciplines of OU engineering students into one centralized location.