Chemical Engineering turns 100

The Chemical Engineering Department, the nation's oldest such program in continuous operation, celebrated its 100th anniversary at the University in a formal convocation yesterday afternoon. University Medals for Distinguished Achievement were awarded to leaders in the profession during the celebration at the University Museum. Interim President Claire Fagin told the audience that the University should "take pride in a history that goes back 254 years." In turning 100, she said, the department joins other schools and departments at the University "with respect [to] its venerable age and eminence." Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington and Chemical Engineering Chairperson Eduardo Glan followed Fagin. "Today I would like us to celebrate engineering as a human activity," Glant said. He explained that the "tools of chemical engineering" can be "applied in every aspect of our lives." Fagin presented University Medals for Distinguished Achievement to Neal Amundson, a chemical engineering at the University of Houston; Stuart Winston Churchill, an emeritus chemical engineering professor; and Arthur Earl Humphrey, chemical engineering professor at Pennsylvania State University. The University Trustees grant the honor to individuals with significant achievements in scientific discovery and notable success in their field. Humphrey, who is also the director of Penn State's Biotechnology Institute and a former University professor and Engineering dean, gave the convocation address. "I am proud to say that my Chemical Engineering career began at Penn," Humphrey said. He continued with a history of the University's program, and recalled numerous anecdotes from his years here. "I am certain that the second 100 years will be even better than the past 100 years," he concluded. After the ceremony, Churchill added that "what's wonderful about being at Penn for the last 26 years is the students ? It makes it a lucky life." The University's chemical engineering program, the oldest in continuous operation in the United States, began in 1855 as the Department of Mines, Arts and Manufacture. It evolved into the Towne Scientific School in 1875, and became a four year program offering a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering in 1893. Chemical engineering graduate student Roger Quon said that the program teaches students to "be more aware of the fundamentals of science and how they apply in the real world." "Problem solving methodology learned at the Penn chemical engineering program can be taken wherever you go," Chemical Engineering graduate student Leighton Wilson added.