Ralph Steinmetz

B.S. 1983
Materials Manager - Sun Chemical Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio

I chose Purdue because I was an Indiana resident, and it was a low-cost option for college. I had family and friends that were attending Purdue as well and when I came for visits when I was in high school. I had fabulous experiences with them and knew Purdue was the right place for me to learn and grow for adulthood.

I was in West Lafayette from 1979 to 1983 and there were two classes where I felt got great chemistry knowledge. They were my freshmen Chem 115-116 classes taught by Professor George Bodner and my organic chemistry curriculum of classes. I have used knowledge from both these areas in my 40-year career working at Sun Chemical Corporation making organic pigments for inks, plastics, coatings, digital and cosmetics.

Purdue gave me a strong background in educational knowledge and in overall life experiences and working with others from the many activities in classroom projects, along with attending sporting events and socializing with other students at Purdue.

I speak highly of Purdue as a wonderful university and the Chemistry Department is rated a top academic performer in the country as my first bosses at Sun Chemical Corporation were aware of its strong reputation even though they came over from Scotland to work in the USA.