October 22, 2004
Purdue engineering announces gifts for its $482 million campaign
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University officials today (Friday, Oct. 22) announced several million dollars in donations for the College of Engineering for projects ranging from a new wing for the mechanical engineering building to innovative software that could improve digital imaging systems.
The university also announced that, as part of the $1.3 billion Campaign for Purdue, engineering has raised more than $326 million toward its goal of $482 million. Of that total, the college raised $55.7 million in the last fiscal year.
The announcements were made during the annual Engineering Dean's Club Luncheon.
The following gifts were announced:
• Two patents worth several million dollars from DuPont.
• $397,000 from Intel Corp. and the Intel Foundation.
• $500,000 from mechanical engineering alumnus Richard Brown and his wife, Rita
• $225,000 from Victoria Willis, a retired faculty member who is making the donation in memory of her lifelong friend, Purdue alumnus Mark Jordan Woodhull Jr.
• And a $100,000 gift from the Dunville Family Charitable Foundation.
The gifts from Willis and the Dunville family will go toward the university's newest engineering building, the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, which is scheduled to open in May 2007. Purdue announced the building name Saturday (Oct. 16) in honor of Armstrong, an alumnus and former astronaut.
"These gifts will enable Purdue to continue building and thriving, but they are part of a much larger picture, as well," said Linda P.B. Katehi, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering. "They represent a continuum of giving, a pattern of loyal support over the years that has enabled the College of Engineering to raise more than $326 million toward our goal."
The luncheon was preceded by a dedication of Purdue's new addition to the Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering.
"Purdue engineering has reached another major milestone in its campaign, and collectively these kinds of gifts are a foundation of the university's quest for preeminence," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke. "Once again, our loyal alumni and corporate supporters agree the future will happen here at Purdue University."
Jan Allebach, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, will study how to possibly develop the DuPont patents into new products. Both of the patents are for mathematical methods to reduce the effects of "stray light" in electronic imaging systems, with the ultimate goal of improving image quality.
In digital photography, light from brighter areas of a scene will "scatter" into other areas of an image, degrading the quality of the intended subject of the image.
"Say the subject is standing in a shadow next to a brightly lit area," Allebach said. "Some of the light from that bright area of the scene is going to be scattered into the area where your subject is standing, and that will make the image much less distinct."
The DuPont technique could be used to process digital images, compensating for this scattering of stray light. Electronic chips in future cameras could be programmed to perform the corrective processing automatically.
"We are first going to do a proof of concept to validate that the technology does in fact work," Allebach said. "We have already replicated some of the experiments and gotten some promising results."
The dollar value of the DuPont gift has been estimated at several million dollars but cannot be determined exactly until the patents are developed into prototypes and researchers test their potential.
It is the third time since 2001 that DuPont has turned over patents to Purdue.
Intel's gift will go toward equipment for various engineering laboratories. The company has been giving to Purdue for about 20 years, providing more than $14 million to the university as a whole, primarily in technical areas. Over that time frame, Intel has given $7.2 million to Purdue engineering alone, helping the university equip teaching and research laboratories and providing funding for the university's recently unveiled Envision Center for Data Perceptualization. The special facility enables researchers to create simulations of real-world phenomena, from storm systems to cellular life, and will help far-flung teams of engineers collaborate on projects. Once connected to a high-speed network called the Teragrid, the center will become one of the most capable facilities in the country for the practice of computational science.
"We have a long standing relationship with Purdue and are pleased to be part of Purdue's continued contribution to world class research and academics," said Intel Senior Fellow Kevin C. Kahn. "In addition to our relationship with the research arm and faculty, Intel is proud to employ more than 500 Purdue alumni, over half of whom have degrees in engineering."
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The gifts from the Browns will support the School of Mechanical Engineering's $128 million fund-raising campaign. The mechanical engineering campaign is raising private donations for the construction of a new wing, renovations to existing facilities and expansion of the mechanical engineering faculty from the current 51 to 65, adding eight endowed professorships in the process.
Richard Brown earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1947. He is founder and CEO of Cambridge Homes Inc., in Libertyville, Ill.
"I can't really put into words what Purdue has meant to me – it has changed my life," he said. "It's hard to describe to people who haven't gone to Purdue just what a great university it is.
"I am using what I learned at Purdue every day in my business. My Purdue education taught me to think clearly and logically, and being a Boilermaker also gives you a sense of dedication and a desire to do your best."
Richard and Rita Brown have been married for 54 years, have three children and live in Libertyville. They have been giving to Purdue since the 1980s. In recognition of their continued support of Purdue engineering, the Richard and Rita Brown Collaborative Learning Classroom will be housed in a future wing of the mechanical engineering building.
A Chicago native, Richard Brown worked at Rockwell Manufacturing Co., now Rockwell International, where he served as marketing director. He then was appointed marketing director for US Plywood Corp. in New York City. He formed his first company in 1961, building Westbrook Farms, a 500-home project in Wheeling, Ill. He founded Cambridge Homes in 1964 and built a 400-home subdivision in Buffalo Grove, Ill.
In 1992 Cambridge Homes was included in the top 100 builders in the nation by Builder magazine and won an Ace Award for construction excellence from Home Owners Warranty Corp.
Cambridge Homes is now Chicago's largest homebuilder, constructing 1,321 homes in 2002 and boasting annual sales exceeding $330 million. Brown sold Cambridge in 1999.
Rita Brown is retired as the director of interior design at Cambridge Homes.
Richard Brown is a past president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago, a past president of the Greater Chicagoland Housing Foundation and a past president of the Home Builders Association of Illinois. He was named Midwest Builder of the Year in 1991, received an Urban Land Institute Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 and was chosen as a Chicago Sun-Times Suburban Builder of the Year in 2003. He also is a member of the Hall of Fame of the Chicago Real Estate Board.
He serves on the Lake Forest Symphony Association's board of directors, is a past member of the Lake County Strategic Planning Committee and is a current member of the Wetlands Research Advisory Board.
Purdue's mechanical engineering programs already are among the best in the nation; the most recent U.S.News & World Report magazine surveys ranked both the graduate and undergraduate programs seventh nationally.
Willis, a professor emerita in visual and performing arts, earned a bachelor's degree in 1969 from Northwestern University in German and interior architecture and a master's degree in 1972 from Cornell University in design and environmental analysis. She worked at Purdue from 1972 to 1999 and is an expert in "universal design," a specialty in which structures are designed so that they are accessible to a wide spectrum of people, from the young to the elderly, and the physically fit to those with physical challenges. Willis, who currently lives in West Lafayette, specialized in research involving interior design for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
Mark Jordan Woodhull Jr., who died in November 2001, earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1936. He worked many years for Douglas Aircraft Co. in Santa Monica, Calif., and specialized in cargo issues in aircraft.
"He was my lifelong friend and mentor," Willis said, noting that Woodhull flew his own plane. "Aviation was one of his life passions."
Because of his love for aviation, she decided to donate money to the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
The gift will support the two-phase flow lab, which will be named in honor of Woodhull and located in Armstrong Hall. The building's location also holds sentimental value for Willis, who worked for 27 years in liberal arts buildings formerly located on the same site.
"I'm so proud of Purdue and Purdue engineering," she said. "I love this school."
Woodhull was a native of Kendalville, Ind., and grew up in Angola, Ind., where Willis was born. He lived for many years in Mount Dora, Fla.
The Dunville family has three siblings who are Purdue engineering alumni, Eric and Glenn Dunville, of Evansville, Ind., and Patricia Spence, of Indianapolis. Eric Dunville received a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics in 1965. Glenn Dunville received a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics in 1968, and Patricia Spence received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1978. The family foundation is providing the gift in honor of the Dunvilles' parents, Jesse and Madalyn Dunville.
"They never had the opportunity to go to college, but they made sure their children did, and we all chose Purdue," said Eric Dunville.
Writer: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu
Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708
E. Dan Hirleman, (765) 494-5688, hirleman@purdue.edu
Kevin C. Kahn, (503) 264-8802
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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