From industry to inspiration: Jay Rule guides the next generation of engineers

Jay Rule '75, M.S. '76, Ph.D '88  has an old chair in his home workshop, still sturdy after decades of use. It is mostly painted black, but there is noticeable wear on the arms, right where a person might put their hands. 

"My dad would scratch at things when he was sitting," Rule said. "These marks were made by him. My wife thought we needed to refinish the chairs, but I leave them like this. It's as though I'm touching his fingertips when I touch the spot."

Rule has been tracing his father’s path for years now. He’s actually the second James Rule to graduate from Virginia Tech with a degree in mechanical engineering; his father finished his undergraduate degree in 1941 before taking his new skills to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard to improve the performance of warships in the middle of World War II. James Rule Sr. was the first person in his family to complete a college degree.

Much changed in the 30 years that passed before James Rule Jr., son of that ship-improvement engineer, arrived to study mechanical engineering in Blacksburg in the fall of 1971. And even more has changed since then. What was once a single lab with a small steam power plant and a Mazda rotary engine has grown into dozens of hands-on research spaces highlighting drones, exoskeletons, and cancer research.

And while Rule once took the bulk of his classes in Randolph Hall, that building was recently demolished to make room for the new Mitchell Hall. Once completed, the cutting-edge, five-story facility will be added to the multitude of locations where today’s mechanical engineering coursework is being taught, from Blacksburg to the Washington, D.C., area.

Even as the Department of Mechanical Engineering has evolved in the last five decades, Rule has remained connected to the department where he earned three degrees, mentoring and teaching generations of new engineers, both in person and online.

Business and back again

Rule’s senior class of 1975 included about 90 people, a fraction of the size of the same cohort in 2025. Then he decided to invest one additional year in the hallowed halls of Randolph to work on a master’s degree. “I felt like that extra year helped me get my feet on the ground a little better,” Rule said.

He took his master’s degree to Procter and Gamble but continued making visits to Blacksburg. During one of those visits, department head J.B. Jones proposed he pursue a Ph.D. and offered him an instructional position in thermodynamics and heat transfer, because Rule’s four years in industry gave him valuable insight to offer students. He agreed to the arrangement and started in 1980.

“I had such a good time teaching, it took me a long time to finish my Ph.D.,” Rule said.

When he did eight years later, he went to work at Westvaco, now SmurfitWestRock, applying his knowledge of thermal systems and heat transfer to manufacturing bleached board packaging.

Retiring from that career after 30 years, he turned his sights once again toward Virginia Tech. The Department of Mechanical Engineering was happy to welcome him back, and Rule signed up to teach thermodynamics classes in 2020, just as COVID-19 closed the campus.

“At spring break, we transitioned from live, face-to-face teaching to Zoom,” he said. “I was fortunate to have an undergraduate student teach me how to use the platform, and she really helped me out.”

The home setup

Rule taught classes for a few semesters, then shifted focus to helping students who were struggling with complicated engineering concepts in an online one-on-one setting.

“I’ve been delighted to continue teaching as an online tutor,” Rule said. “I meet with anyone who is interested for an hour a day, five days a week.”

He also created a YouTube channel called Jay’s Toolbox, a place for students to learn on their own time. In the workshop where his dad’s chair sits, Rule has filmed more than 100 teaching videos for Jay's Toolbox, including several playlists that organize the lessons by theme.

For the videos, Rule has found new ways to demonstrate the ideas of thermal dynamics in real life. In the home workshop where he keeps his computer, a large pendulum mechanism swings from the ceiling. Other gadgets formed from PVC pipe and machined metal rest on the benches, waiting for their chance on camera. There are valves, gauges, pumps, and simplified versions of the mechanisms he has worked with throughout his career. Many students in the next generation of engineers have enhanced their understanding by watching Rule demonstrate a foundational engineering principle in his videos.

The battered chair in the workshop where he uses modern technology in online tutoring and YouTube teaching isn’t the only thing he inherited from his father. To mark James Rule Sr.’s legacy in mechanical engineering, James Rule Jr. established a scholarship in his father’s name almost 20 years ago to support students from the area of Southwest Virginia where he grew up. There have been some highly successful recipients; Caleb Sargent ’12 was named to a 30 under 30 list in his field and eventually became the vice president of his company.

“A student asked me why I’m doing this after I retired,” Rule said. “I had two answers. The first was that serving as an instructor is the best job I’ve ever had. The second answer was that I stay active technically to keep my mind sharp and help people out.”