Purdue News

Engineering alumni receive honors for service, dedication

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Photos of the honorees are available. Call Lisa Tally, (765) 494-9996.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue University Engineering Alumni Association will honor three individuals at a May 16 awards banquet for their service, loyalty and dedication to the university and the engineering profession.

• Dr. Robert E. Hannemann, a Lafayette pediatrician and Hammond native, will receive the association's President's Award for a lifetime of service and achievements. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Purdue in 1952 and teaches a course in biomedical engineering in the School of Chemical Engineering. He is a consultant for the Schools of Engineering's Technical Assistance Program and has served on the Engineering Alumni Association's board of directors.

  Hannemann, who is president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has a joint appointment in the clinical area of Purdue's Department of Psychological Sciences and is on the community advisory council of the Department of Child Development and Family Studies. He was a part-time physician at Purdue's Student Health Service, serves on the Purdue Parents Executive Committee, and is president of the Purdue Class of '52 Alumni. He also is a member of Purdue's President's Council.

  Hannemann is involved with Project Head Start, the Lafayette Medical Education Foundation and the Rotary Club. In 1992 he was named volunteer of the year by the Boys and Girls Club of Lafayette.

  Two engineering alumni will receive the association's Service Award. They are:

• Richard L. Gross, Anderson , who earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1947. In 1987 he retired from General Motors as general manager of the corporation's guide lamp division.

  From 1980 to 1987, Gross served as GM's key executive for Purdue and recruited engineering graduates. During the last four years of that appointment, more engineering students from Purdue were hired by GM than from any other university. Gross' success in recruiting Purdue engineers made him instrumental in securing a $1.5 million gift from General Motors to the Schools of Engineering.

  Gross has served on the boards of Anderson's Family Services Agency, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, and United Way and Madison Way campaigns. He received Junior Achievement's Businessman's Hall of Fame Award in 1987 and participated in the historic restoration of Anderson's Paramount Theatre. He is a member of the Engineering Alumni Association.

• Jerome R. Hansen, Salt Lake City, Utah, earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue in 1948. He owns JRH Sales, which sells insulation hangers, adhesives and duct-support systems. Hansen has earned the nickname "Mr. Purdue" because of his enduring support of Purdue engineering and the entire university. Hansen established the first Utah Purdue alumni club, and at the request of Purdue presidents, he has represented the university at the inaugurations of six college presidents in Utah.

CONTACT: Lisa Tally, Office of the Dean of Engineering, (765) 494-9996.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

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