Page 15 - CEMS News Winter 2021

GIVING MATTERS
Celebrating an academic legacy
Noted alumni Arvind and Karen Varma endow new professorship.
As CEMS concludes its Centennial and Jubilee year, we are honored to announce the establishment of the Arvind and Karen Varma Endowed Professorship in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, made possible by a generous philanthropic contribution from Karen Varma (Biological Sciences ’72) in loving memory of her late husband Arvind Varma (PhD ChE ’72) who passed away on July 14, 2019.
Born in India, Professor Arvind Varma earned his BS
from Panjab University in 1966, his MS in 1968 from
the University of New Brunswick, and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1972 where he conducted
his thesis research under the direction of Professor
Neal Amundson. Following a two-year appointment in industrial research, he pursued an academic career, first at the University of Notre Dame during 1975-2003 where he served as department chair during 1982-88 and then as an endowed chair professor during 1988-2003. He joined Purdue University as Distinguished Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering in January 2004 and continued in this role until July 2016 when he returned
to his faculty role as Distinguished Professor. He is remembered as a ground-breaking chemical engineering researcher who had significant impacts in the areas
of hydrogen and other energy sources, chemical and catalytic reaction engineering, and in the synthesis of advanced materials. Arvind was a tireless advocate for excellence in chemical engineering education,
an academic leader remembered for his steadfast dedication to his students and whose accomplishments include more than 300 research publications, three books, two edited volumes, and having served as the founding Series Editor of the Cambridge Series in Chemical Engineering.
His numerous contributions to the field, as well as
his tireless commitment to advancing excellence in chemical engineering education, are remembered by many former students, colleagues, and fellow CEMS alumni. In creating this new professorship, Karen notes that throughout his life Arvind traced his success to the
CEMS alumnus Arvind Varma and UMN alumna Karen Varma, pictured on Thanksgiving Day, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photo courtesy of Karen Varma.
graduate education that he received in CEMS, where he was profoundly influenced by the high quality faculty, particularly Professors Neal Amundson and Rutherford Aris. This new endowed faculty position further links Arvind’s distinguished academic legacy with that of the department, and complements the endowed graduate fellowship and travel award previously established by both him and Karen in support of graduate students in CEMS.
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