College Of Engineering Receives $5 Million Gift

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University Park, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Engineering has received $5 million from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. The gift will endow the Department of Chemical Engineering and significantly strengthen its interdisciplinary activities in the life sciences, particularly in the bioprocessing and biomedical areas.

"The discipline of chemical engineering is in transition today," said Larry Duda, head of chemical engineering. "Recently, tremendous strides have been made in understanding biological systems, and chemical engineers will play a dominant role in transferring these new biological discoveries to industry during the next century -- just as they did with the petroleum industry in the past. We're elated that the resources from this endowment will move our department into this area much more quickly than we had anticipated."

The gift will support the trend of science's greatest advances occurring at the borders between different disciplines, noted University President Graham Spanier.

"As Penn State prepares for its forthcoming capital campaign, notable gifts such as this will inspire others to help us achieve our goal of significantly increasing the University's endowment, and we are extremely grateful for such generous support," Spanier said.

Income from the endowment will fund a faculty chair for a senior professor to provide leadership in the new areas, for undergraduate scholarships, and for fellowships for graduate students pursuing biological and biomedical research. The endowment will also support an annual lecture series featuring renowned experts in the chemical engineering/life sciences interface, and laboratories and equipment for new research and instructional activities.

"Having the chemical engineering department receive such a magnificent endowment at this time of pivotal change in the field is wonderful," said Engineering Dean David N. Wormley. "This will strengthen the department's undergraduate and graduate curricula and research programs, and help prepare our graduates for the future.

"The high quality of the department's faculty and programs was instrumental in the donor's decision to make this significant gift to our College. We are thankful for the donor's generous support and confidence in the chemical engineering department. With this endowment, the department has the potential to advance significantly in this interdisciplinary field."

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