November 8, 2005

Purdue honors two chemical engineering alumni

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering recently honored two alumni with its 2005 Outstanding Chemical Engineer Award.

The award recognizes alumni for their leadership, service and professional achievements.

"During the years, only 113 of the school's 9,000 alumni have received this prestigious award," said Arvind Varma, head of the School of Chemical Engineering. "These two individuals exemplify outstanding and innovative leadership in their professional lives and have brought positive recognition to the chemical engineering profession and to Purdue's School of Chemical Engineering."

This year's recipients are:

• Robert Weist, Chicago, who earned a bachelor's degree in 1962. He is a retired senior vice president, corporate secretary and general counsel of Amgen Inc., the world's largest biotechnology company. While at Amgen, he successfully led the company's intellectual property strategy and its Japanese joint venture, Kirin-Amgen Inc. Recently, Weist and his wife, Sally, who earned a bachelor's degree in education from Purdue in 1961, established the Weist Foundation. The foundation focuses on providing funds for innovative education programs.

• Arindam Bose, Pawcatuck, Conn., who earned a doctoral degree in 1980. He is the executive director of Biologics Strategy & Alliances, Worldwide Pharmaceutical Sciences, at Pfizer Global R&D. Bose is responsible for the planning, project management and outsourcing function of Pfizer's expanding human biologics portfolio, which has grown from a single compound in 1995 to more than 25 projects today. Bose is a recipient of the American Chemical Society's James Van Lanen Award. He also was recognized for his contribution to Pfizer's United States Individual Achievement Awards in 1992 and 2000, as well as receiving a Pfizer UK Team Achievement Award in 2000.

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu

Source: Arvind Varma, (765) 494-4075, avarma@purdue.edu

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

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