Praxair to Invest $1.33 Million in NC State’s College of Engineering

North Carolina State University’s College of Engineering will receive a $1.33 million gift from Praxair Inc. and its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Angel, to support workforce development, diversity initiatives, and teaching and research related to areas of engineering and technology of specific interest to Praxair.

Angel’s contribution of $667,000 will be matched by the state of North Carolina’s Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund to create the $1 million Angel Family Distinguished Professorship in Mechanical Engineering. The professorship will be awarded to a faculty member in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering whose research activities include one of the following areas: heat transfer, turbo machinery, insulation, fuel efficiency, thermal integration, combustion, energy efficient processes, or computational fluid dynamics.

The company, through its Global Giving program, has committed an additional $666,000 to the college to support a mix of endowed and annual scholarships for students in chemical and mechanical engineering, to enhance diversity in the College of Engineering, as well as to pursue research and recruiting opportunities that will further the college’s efforts to train engineers in the fundamentals of sustainability. In addition to this commitment, Praxair funds engineering and STEM-related programs and opportunities at targeted educational institutions across the country.

“We are very grateful for Praxair’s generous gift supporting NC State’s College of Engineering, our faculty and our students,” said Chancellor Randy Woodson. “The Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering will be able to enhance their research and create new opportunities for our talented students and faculty.”

In recognition of Praxair’s generosity, NC State is naming a high-profile space on Centennial Campus. The 94-seat lecture hall in Engineering Building I, home to the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, will be re-named “The Praxair Lecture Hall.” The endowment that Praxair establishes in support of diversity initiatives will be used by deans of engineering in perpetuity to meet emerging needs related to increasing diversity.

“NC State is a premiere university that produces some of the best engineering graduates in the country. Ensuring a population of the best and brightest engineers is not only critical to Praxair’s business success but a vital driver of the global economy as well,” said Angel. “We are proud to support an institution of this quality and look forward to working with NC State to further enhance the student experience, faculty research and University facilities.”

“This generous gift will improve our academic stature, get more young people interested in engineering, and accelerate our research efforts in areas of mutual interest,” said Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering. “We are grateful for Praxair’s generosity and its commitment to what will certainly be a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership with NC State.”

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