Commemorating 100 years of innovation
ON THE GREEN | As the renowned chemical and biomolecular engineering program at UD marks its 100th anniversary this year, the department has received a gift endowing a faculty chair in honor of the centennial.
Bob Gore, a 1959 graduate and 2010 honorary doctor of science recipient, and his wife, Jane, have contributed $3 million to establish the Bob and Jane Gore Centennial Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The gift addresses a need that is a top priority for the department and the entire University.
“Students coming to UD to study chemical or biomolecular engineering expect to learn from the best,” says Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, dean of the College of Engineering and William L. Friend Chaired Professor. “It is a reputation we have earned over the last century, through the actions and teaching of chemical engineering legends such as Allan Colburn and Robert Pigford.
“Funding to attract and retain top faculty talent is critical to maintaining the College of Engineering’s reputation for excellence. I am grateful to the Gores for recognizing the ways in which supporting faculty enhances and improves student success. Their decision to honor the department’s centennial by endowing a new faculty chair will have a lasting and positive impact on our students for the next 100 years and beyond.”
In the late 1950s, Bob Gore was an undergraduate student in what was then the Department of Chemical Engineering. Today, he is among the department’s most notable alumni.
As the former president and current chairman of the board at W.L. Gore & Associates, Gore used his talents as an inventor and entrepreneur to transform his family’s company into a global industry leader.
He has also been a consistent and strong supporter of both his alma mater and his former department. In addition to donating millions of dollars in financial support—including a $10 million gift in 2013 to establish the Bob and Jane Gore Research Laboratories in the new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Lab—Gore has given freely of his time, talent and expertise.
He serves as a member of the department advisory council, and is an emeritus member of the University’s Board of Trustees. Most recently, he served as one of three alumni volunteer co-chairs for the department’s Centennial Campaign and was one of the alumni guests who took part in the Centennial Celebrations.
“The department is such a wonderful investment,” Gore says. “It’s doing great and important things and is already recognized as being one of the very top departments in the country. So I am very pleased that I can encourage them to build on the excellence they have already established. It’s a great way to continue a partnership with the department.
“I am hoping that some of my classmates, from way back in my era, have had successful careers and can now find a way to contribute to this campaign.”
Anniversary events recognize teaching, research
The Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering is holding numerous events this academic year to mark the anniversary. Alumni reunited on campus for a weekend gathering in September, and a book, 100 Years of Innovation: A Legacy of Pedagogy and Research, describing the department’s history is available for purchase.
Current students say they welcome the chance to mark the anniversary and to meet returning alumni.
“Within chemical engineering specifically, there’s a strong sense of family that you get that you won’t find in other majors,” says junior Jonathan Galarraga, vice president of UD’s student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. “We have close interpersonal relationships with graduate students, faculty members and peers.”
For more about the department and its centennial, visit www.che.udel.edu.
