UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State and Dow have collaborated for years to enrich student experiences, enable student success and foster discovery through research. The partnership was further strengthened today with the announcement that Dow is expanding its current commitment to the University’s Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering programs by supporting construction of a new building in 2016. The new facility will result in research labs and teaching facilities beyond what is currently available for chemical engineering research at any university, ensuring that Penn State’s Department of Chemical Engineering remains a highly ranked national program.
Dow has committed $500,000 in funding that will support the department, its faculty, students, research programs and activities. This contribution will allow Penn State to outfit the new building with state-of-the-art equipment, redesign the curriculum to match the quality of the labs, hire additional faculty and more. The funds promise to bolster the rankings of the department at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, further confirming Penn State as a top educator of chemical engineering students.
“We realize the journey toward innovation is enhanced through collaboration, and Penn State has been a good partner for us,” said A.N. Sreeram, corporate vice president, Research & Development at Dow. “The University shares our goal of ensuring exceptional chemical engineering students have access to premier educational opportunities so that they can begin their careers with a well-developed understanding of industry operations and ready to make an immediate impact.”
“Dow has been an exceptional corporate partner of Penn State’s, and we are delighted to enhance our partnership through this contribution,” said Amr Elnashai, dean of the College of Engineering at Penn State. “We are committed to building a pipeline of talent for the chemical industry, as well as to create new technologies for chemical and materials innovation. Dow’s outstanding support will significantly advance our ability to achieve both aims.”
In 2011, Dow bolstered its commitment to academic research and engineering programs at 11 leading U.S. universities, including Penn State. That year the company began a multi-year research project with Penn State focused on flexible and printed electronics as well as chemical linguistic analysis, fields of strategic importance to Dow and the chemical industry.
Supporters like Dow are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University’s land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni, friends and corporate partners enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of our faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.
About Dow
Dow combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The company is driving innovations that extract value from the intersection of chemical, physical and biological sciences to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, clean energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's integrated, market-driven, industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 180 countries and in high-growth sectors such as packaging, electronics, water, coatings and agriculture. In 2014, Dow had annual sales of more than $58 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The company's more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 35 countries across the globe. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.