College of Science

School of Science Distingushed Alumni

Adel F. Halasa, PhD 1964, Chemistry
Adel Halasa is an R&D Fellow at The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s corporate Research & Development Division. His current research interests are anionic polymerization for the preparation of novel elastomers with controlled micro and macro structures, miscible and immiscible blends of various elastomers and their effect on physical properties, and hydrogenation of block copolymers. He has 233 patents and 86 scientific publications. His most recent significant accomplishment was his contribution to the success of Goodyear’s Aquatred tire, which has won awards in design, engineering and marketing. He has been recognized internationally for his lifetime contributions to rubber science, spanning numerous fields. Dr. Halasa is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi, and the Scientific Research Society. In 1997, he received the Charles Goodyear Medal, the highest honor of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society.

Arlene K. Musser,   B.S. 1974, Chemistry
Arlene Musser is Senior Patent Counsel for Pfizer, Inc. in Groton, Connecticut. Following her graduation from Purdue, she received the PhD in organic photochemistry from the University of Cincinnati. In 1981 she joined 3M Corporation as a research and development chemist in the graphic arts division, where she became known as an expert in the field of color proofing. She held several leadership positions including global team leader for the commercialization of two major color proofing systems. She also served as co-chair of the Corporate Women’s Advisory Committee and the team leader of the patent liaison group supporting the information, imaging and electronics sector. Her excellence in patent drafting and strategy persuaded 3M to pay her tuition to law school, and she graduated magna cum laude from the William Mitchell College of Law in 1998. Dr. Musser is a strong supporter of education, mentorship and sponsorship of women and underrepresented minorities. She has actively encouraged women and minority students to enter the field of science and patent law, and she has served leadership roles on various corporate advisory committees on gender and diversity.

Fred W. Hoover, M.S. 1938, Ph.D. 1941
Research Associate (retired) with DuPont Chemical Company. While at DuPont, Dr. Hoover conducted research ranging from exploratory organic chemistry and polymers synthesis to catalyst development, process engineering and inorganic chemistry. He served as chairman of the alumni committee for the Henry B. Hass Memorial Fund drive in the Department of Chemistry.

 

Frank Brown, Ph.D. 1968
A retired research scientist from Elil Lilly where he served as a group leader in the Chemical Process Research and Development Division of Lilly Research Laboratories. He was responsible for the chemical develpment of specific products through biotechnology, biotransformation and chemical synthesis. He was a leading force in establishing the Lilly Minority Honors Fellowship, which provide tuition and other costs for hightly qualified minority students in science at Purdue.

 

Christopher M. Cimarusti, Ph.D. 1968
Christopher M. Cimarusti is the Vice President for Process Research and Development at the Bristol-Myers, Squibb Co. Pharmaceutical Research Institute in New Jersey. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Purdue in 1968. After spending a year in postdoctoral research at Columbia University, he joined Squibb in 1969 as a research investigator, rising steadily over the years through positions of increasing responsibility to his current position, where he supervises the development and production of millions of dollars worth of materials for the health care industry. Dr. Cimarusti holds more than sixty patents in the areas of cardiovascular, steroid, and B-lactam research. He is the author of forty scientific papers in refereed journals, and he has been active as a speaker at both academic institutions and technical meetings.

 

Martin L. Gorbaty, Ph.D. 1969, (Chemistry)
Martin L. Gorbaty is a senior research associate in the Corporate Research Division of Exxon Research and Engineering Co. He has conducted research in the areas of organic, polymer, and fuel chemistry. Dr. Gorbaty's work has resulted in the issue of 30 U.S. patents, as well as 8 patents pending. He has 46 publications in the areas of organic and coal chemistry, and has edited 5 books on synthetic crudes and coal science. He is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for Advancement of Science, and is on the editorial boards of Fuel and Chemtech. In 1990 he received the Richard A. Glenn Award from Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. He is the 1993 winner of the American Chemical Society's Henry H. Storch Award in Fuel Chemistry.

 

John Landis, M.S. 1976, Ph.d. 1978
John B. Landis is Vice President for Control Development at Pharmacia. He has been responsible for worldwide analytical research and development, quality assurance for clinical supplies, and quality assurance for Biotechnology and Biologics. Previously he served as executive director for Quality Control Laboratory Operations and Director for Product Control. He served as an officer of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association Biologics Section. He has also served on the Unites States Pharmacopeia Committee of Revision (A public standard setting body for establishing official standards for pharmaceuticals). He has authored numerous papers on drug analysis, genetic engineering, and laboratory automation.

 

John A. Smith, B.S. 1969, (Chemistry)
John A. Smith is a professor of pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he also serves as the director of the Division of Laboratory Medicine in the Department of Pathology. He is also Senior Scientist at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. He earned the M.S. degree in 1971 from University of Melbourne, the M.D. from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in 1974, and the Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne in 1978. Dr. Smith served on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 1992, also holding appointments at Massachusetts General Hospital during that period. He is a member of a number of professional societies, including the American Federation for Clinical Research, the American Association of Immunologists, the American Association of Investigative Pathology, and the New York Academy of Sciences. He has been a member of the School of Science Dean's Advisory Council since the fall of 1994. In 1991 Dr. Smith received the Distinguished Young Physician Award from the University of Missouri Medical Alumni Organization, and was elected a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists.

 

Nina M. Roscher, Ph.D. 1964 (Chemistry)
Nina M. Roscher is Professor and Chair of the Chemistry Department at the American University in Washington, D.C. She has also served as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Dean for Faculty Affairs and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. Prior to coming to The American University, she taught at Douglass College of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, the University of Texas at Austin, and Purdue. She also worked as a senior staff chemist for the Coca-Cola Export Company of New York. Dr. Roscher is active in the American Chemical Society; she authored the book Women Chemists 1990 for the ACS, and is currently working on Women Chemists 1995. She was recently named the 1996 winner of the ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences sponsored by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. She has been national vice president of Iota Sigma Pi, the honorary society for women in chemistry, and she helped found the Purdue Chapter of Iota Sigma Pi.

 

Clinton F. Lane, Ph.D. 1972 (Chemistry)
Clinton F. Lane is Executive Vice President of Aldrich Chemical Co., Inc., in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he oversees product management, marketing, technical services, publications, promotions, and purchasing. He joined Aldrich Chemical in 1972 as a chemist in Research and Development and held positions of increasing responsibility through the years, becoming Executive Vice President in 1991. Dr. Lane received the American Chemical Society, Milwaukee Section Award in 1994, and was honored as a Purdue University Old Master in 1995. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Chemistry, London, and the Chemical Society of Japan. He also serves as a member of the External Advisory Committee for the Department of Chemistry.

 

William H. Woodruff, M.S. 1969; Ph.D. 1972 (Chemistry)
William (Woody) Woodruff is Laboratory Fellow in the Bioscience and Biotechnology Group, Chemical Science and Technology Division, at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and he is an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico. Before coming to Los Alamos, Dr. Woodruff was a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin and Syracuse University. He is a leader in the fields of laser-based spectroscopic methods in biochemistry, bioinorganic chemistry, and inorganic chemistry. Dr. Woodruff has published more than one hundred papers and delivered invited lectures at universities and government and industrial laboratories in the United States and abroad. He is active in scientific meetings and editorial work, and maintains a large degree of scientific collaboration. In 1997 Dr. Woodruff received the Elisabeth Roberts Cole Award of the Biophysical Society, as well as the Biomen-Michelson Award presented by the Coblentz Society and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. He is the only scientist who has won both awards.

 

Andrew G. De Rocco, B.S. 1956 (Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics)
Andrew G. De Rocco is Connecticut's Commissioner of Higher Education, a post he has held since 1992. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, he was president of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, having served previously as Dean of the Faculty and College Professor of the Natural Sciences at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. In addition, he had been affiliated with the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges. He received his B.S. in chemistry, physics, and mathematics from Purdue, and the M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical physics from the University of Michigan. Dr. De Rocco has authored research papers, educational essays, book reviews, and commissioned studies. He has served as a consultant to the Office of the United States Secretary of Defense, IBM, the Association of American Colleges, the Charles A. Dana Foundation, and the Alfred E. Sloan Foundation, among others. Dr. De Rocco's professional affiliations include the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, the Biophysical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to which he was elected a Fellow. Dr. De Rocco is a member of the School of Science Dean's Advisory Council. In 1988 he was awarded the William Rainey Harper Medal for distinguished contributions to higher education.

 

Jerry R. Ebner, Ph.D. 1975 (Chemistry)
Jerry R. Ebner is a Senior Science Fellow at Monsanto Corporate Research, Chemical Sciences. He has responsibilities for the discovery and use of catalysts for benign chemical processing, such as mediating chemical reactions with surface chemistry to avoid and/or reduce the production of chemical wastes. He is considered the expert within Monsanto on catalyst systems, and his research has had significant impact on critical chemical processes within the Monsanto manufacturing facilities. In 1997 he was awarded Monsanto's highest science and technology prize, the Queeny Award, in recognition of his contributions to the development of a new catalyst for making glyphosate, the raw material in Monsanto's Roundup™. He has also contributed to the development of processes for making intermediates for nylon fibers and other important products. As a result of these accomplishments, Dr. Ebner holds the title of Distinguished Fellow in Monsanto, a title which is held by only three others in the company. Dr. Ebner served as an invited member of Vision 2020, a major U.S.-wide initiative sponsored by the American Chemical Society to draft a long-term vision for the U.S. chemical industry. He also serves on several advisory boards and journal review panels. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Chemical Society.

 

Sundaram Krishnamurthy, Ph.D. 1971 (Chemistry)
Sundaram (Kris) Krishnamurthy is Research Laboratory Head in Imaging Research and Advanced Development at the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York. He joined Kodak in 1979 as a research scientist, following postdoctoral work with Professor Herbert C. Brown. Dr. Krishnamurthy has made significant contributions to improving important Kodak products including Ektacolor paper, Royal Gold color negative films, and Eastman Color Print motion picture film, and is credited with 23 patents. His research effort is directed at the development of new synthetic methodologies via organometallics. His research group was presented with a 1991 Team Achievement Award from Kodak, and Dr. Krishnamurthy received a Kodak Distinguished Inventors' Award in 1996. He is a strong supporter of the Purdue Chemistry Department's Industrial Associate program and has been one of the principal Kodak representatives to that group. As a member of Kodak's Research Scientific Council, he was instrumental in establishing the Kodak Graduate Fellowship Program in 1990, and it was primarily through his efforts that Purdue is one of only five universities in the United States that are included in this program. Dr. Krishnamurthy received his M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Madras, India.

 

Don G. Brady, Ph.D. 1966 (Chemistry)
Don G. Brady is manager for technology, services and facilities at Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In this position he is responsible for all research and engineering technologies associated with refining, marketing, transportation, low sulfur fuels, gas to liquids, and analytical chemistry services. He also has responsibility for all facilities and engineering projects at the Phillips Research Center. Dr. Brady joined Phillips Petroleum in 1966 as a research chemist, and during his career has served in a number of supervisory and managerial positions with the company. Dr. Brady has distinguished himself as a world leader in the polymer and petroleum business. He holds 38 U.S. patents, has authored approximately 37 publications, and has made numerous presentations at technical, business, industry and civic meetings. Dr. Brady is a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers and the American Chemical Society, and serves on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Composite Materials.

 

Eileen H. Bedell, B.S. 1974 (Chemistry)
Eileen Bedell is a partner at Accenture, formerly Andersen Consulting, where she is responsible for the human performance practice for banks, capital markets and insurance companies in the United States and Canada. This practice covers organizational change strategy, workforce transformation, human performance and knowledge/learning management. She specializes in business and organization strategy development and implementation for wholesale institutional banking and capital markets businesses. Ms. Bedell also has extensive experience in executive leadership, new business ventures and board of director strategy. She has 27 years consulting and line management experience. Prior to joining Andersen Consulting in 1998, she was a strategy partner at Booz Allen & Hamilton, a partner at Greenwich Associates, a managing director at Bankers Trust and an officer of Mellon Bank. In addition to the bachelor's degree in chemistry, Ms. Bedell also received a B.S. in industrial management and an M.S. in industrial administration from Purdue. She is a member of the School of Science Dean's Advisory Council.

Christian T. Goralski, Ph.D. 1968
Christian Goralski is a Scientist with The Dow Chemical Company. He began his career with Dow in 1968 in the Special Assignments Program, and is currently in the Pharmaceuticals Process Research department, working on the design and scale-up of organic chemical processes for the manufacture of bulk pharmaceutical agents. Dr. Goralski has authored more than 50 articles in professional scientific journals, and has made scientific presentations at national and international conferences. He also holds more than 50 patents. He is a member of the American Chemical Society; Alpha Chi Sigma Chemistry Professional Society; Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemistry Honorary; Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honorary; and Sigma Xi Research Honorary.

Cecilia Sze, B.S. 1970
Cecilia Sze is co-founder, president and CEO of Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. an environmental research and consulting company with expertise in remote sensing, satellite meteorology, numerical weather prediction, climatology, circulation diagnostics, atmospheric chemistry, air quality and risk assessment, mathematical modeling, planetary services, atmospheric sounding and systems engineering. In addition to its headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts, AER has offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Omaha, Nebraska, and Bedford, Massachusetts. AER began in 1977 with two employees concentrating in atmospheric chemistry, and has since grown to its present size of nearly one hundred employees comprising ten research groups. Ms. Sze also earned a Master's in Business Administration from Northeastern University.