Research Stars Light the Path - College of Engineering - University ...
Research Stars Light the Path - College of Engineering - University ...
Research Stars Light the Path - College of Engineering - University ...
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CAMPAIGN UW: CREATING FUTURES 2000~2008Beyond everyone’s wildest dreams” is how Steve Rogel(ChemE ’65) sums up <strong>the</strong> great success <strong>of</strong> CampaignUW for <strong>the</strong> <strong>University</strong> and <strong>the</strong> <strong>College</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong>. Aschair <strong>of</strong> <strong>Engineering</strong>’s Campaign Executive Committeehe’s had a hand on <strong>the</strong> wheel <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ambitious initiative,and in encouraging alumni to get on board.“More than 5,400 alumni, individuals, and organizationsmade first-time gifts,” Rogel said. “That is asheartwarming as it was essential, given <strong>the</strong> magnitude<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> campaign. We proved engineers can open <strong>the</strong>irwallets,” he added with satisfaction.More than doubling <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> student andfaculty endowments merits even louder toots <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>horn. “We have excellent leadership at <strong>the</strong> college andwith more support, we can keep attracting <strong>the</strong> talentnecessary to move to <strong>the</strong> next level <strong>of</strong> achievement andrecognition,” he said.As <strong>the</strong> campaign headed into its closing months,Rogel and his wife, Connie, contributed generously tothat effort by establishing an endowed pr<strong>of</strong>essorship inChemical <strong>Engineering</strong>. They made <strong>the</strong> gift at a significant“Support forgraduate studentsSteven and Connie RogelEndowed Fellowship inChemical <strong>Engineering</strong>Micron Gifts Fur<strong>the</strong>r InnovationA quest for ever faster and smaller semiconductor devicesdrives <strong>the</strong> need to develop and incorporate new combinations<strong>of</strong> materials in chip structure. Boise-based Micron Technology,Inc. and <strong>the</strong> Micron Foundation provided advancedequipment and funding to launch <strong>the</strong> Micron Laboratoryfor Combinatorial Materials Exploration (CME) in RobertsHall, directed by Fumio Ohuchi,pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> materials scienceand engineering. This yearMicron provided additionalfunds to set up a new X-rayphotoelectron spectroscopymachine in a Micron CME labin <strong>the</strong> Physics Building, alsoused by Ohuchi and his team.14 TREND • Vol 58:2 • Autumn 2008transition time in <strong>the</strong>ir lives. Rogel retired in April after11 years as CEO <strong>of</strong> Weyerhaueser, though he continuesserving as chairman <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> board <strong>of</strong> directors. He andConnie, an alumna <strong>of</strong> Seattle <strong>University</strong> and member<strong>of</strong> its board <strong>of</strong> regents, have built a waterfront home inPort Ludlow, where <strong>the</strong>y plan to enjoy <strong>the</strong>ir boat andcontinuing proximity to Seattle and <strong>the</strong>ir alma maters.They’ve had quite a journey from Ritzville, a smallwheat-farming community in Eastern Washington whereboth were born and raised. The son <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> local Buickand GMC dealer, Rogel was servicing cars and trucksby age 13 and running heavy farm machinery not longafter. Gritty summer manual-labor jobs convinced himthat earning a UW chemical engineering degree wouldbroaden his career opportunities.A summer internship at St. Regis Paper Co. drewhim into <strong>the</strong> forest products industry, and followinggraduation, assignments that would take him from<strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>astern U.S. to Canada. He joined Portland’sWillamette Industries in 1972 and worked his way up<strong>the</strong> ranks to CEO in 1995, gaining a reputation as astrategic thinker with a sharp eye for cost efficiencies.From <strong>the</strong>re it was a short jaunt north to Federal Way in1997 and <strong>the</strong> significantly bigger arena <strong>of</strong> Weyerhaeuser.“I owe so much <strong>of</strong> my success to my engineeringeducation that I felt a need to return something to<strong>the</strong> UW,” Rogel said. He believes <strong>the</strong> Rogel endowedpr<strong>of</strong>essorship comes at an exciting transition time for<strong>the</strong> Chemical <strong>Engineering</strong> program.“The stopwatch and bucket brigade measurement<strong>of</strong> flows and volumes is over,” Rogel said. He pointsto dramatic changes in <strong>the</strong> past 10-15 years, as <strong>the</strong>discipline has moved <strong>of</strong>f a primary focus on industrialprocesses and into an interdisciplinary juncture withbioengineering and medicine and work on <strong>the</strong> molecularand nanotechnology levels.“It’s a new world, and I hope our endowed pr<strong>of</strong>essorshipwill enable <strong>the</strong> department to hire or retain exceptionalfaculty who will forge a leadership role for <strong>the</strong>department in this area.”