2010 Honorary Degree
Deborah L. Grubbe
Doctor of Engineering
Deborah L. Grubbe has distinguished herself as an expert in engineering safety and an ardent advocate for diversity in her profession.
Grubbe completed her bachelor's degree with highest distinction in chemical engineering at Purdue in 1977. She received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to attend the University of Cambridge in England and obtained a certificate of postgraduate study in chemical engineering. After Purdue, she joined the DuPont Co. and held 15 progressive assignments within five business units over her 27-year tenure with the company. In 2005, she accepted an assignment with British Petroleum as vice president for group safety and industrial hygiene.
Recently, Grubbe left British Petroleum and started her own consulting firm, Operations & Safety Solutions LLC, to address new challenges and effect positive changes within the industry. With a broad range of experiences, she is a leader in safety across many business sectors - chemicals and refining, and gas, solar, aerospace, and renewable energies.
She was recently appointed 2010 chair of the Institute for Sustainability, a technological community within the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). In addition, she currently serves on the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and was a consultant to the Columbia Shuttle Accident Investigation Board. She is a former advisory board member of AIChE's Center for Chemical Process Safety and a director of its management division.
A strong advocate for diversity in engineering, Grubbe actively participates as a board member in the FIRST Robotics programs to raise cultural awareness and spark interest in the engineering profession among K–12 students.
Grubbe is a longstanding mentor to Purdue students in the College of Engineering, the School of Chemical Engineering, and the Society of Women Engineers. She served for many years on the Executive Committee of the School of Chemical Engineering Industrial Advisory Council and currently serves as a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council.
Within her community, Grubbe is a President's Advisory Council member for the Chesapeake Bay Girl Scout Council and she is a past board member for the YWCA of New Castle County. She has mentored students who are part of the Science, Engineering, and Math (SEM) program through the University of Delaware, which offers students with disabilities opportunities to explore interests in those disciplines.
She has received a number of honors and awards, including Outstanding Chemical Engineer in 1994 by Purdue's School of Chemical Engineering and Distinguished Engineering Alumna by Purdue's College of Engineering in 2002. She also has received the Trailblazer Award from the Delaware Alliance of Professional Women. She was named Engineer of the Year by the state of Delaware in 2002 and, in 1985, was the first woman and youngest elected member on the State of Delaware Registration Board for Professional Engineers.
Grubbe is married to James B. Porter Jr., and they reside in Chadds Ford, Pa.
