Earlier this month, we held the spring meeting of the College of Engineering Visiting/Campaign Committee, at which we discussed faculty leadership development in the college, and received valuable feedback from our committee members. Leadership development is an area of interest for many of our volunteers and donors; I look forward to sharing more about this topic in the future.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this issue. In addition to a Giving Spotlight on our campaign co-chairs, Jeet and Jan Bindra, our Supporting Faculty Excellence section highlights Stephen Muench, holder of the Tom and Marilyn Draeger | The Beavers Charitable Trust Endowed Professorship, which has as its purpose to encourage students to explore entry into the field of heavy construction engineering. The Beavers are now piloting a new endowed scholarship here that will serve as a model for similar scholarships at universities around the country.

In Tom Draeger's words: "Because the Beavers Trust and my wife and I are so pleased with Steve Muench and the efforts he has made to work with our contractor membership, we are funding a scholarship to provide students with a greater understanding of the construction industry, and give them some real-life experience in the industry before they graduate. We want students today to have the opportunity to understand the satisfaction derived from building things."

We are grateful for the support of our alumni and friends, and look forward to what we can achieve together in the campaign.

Mike Bragg, Ph.D.
Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering

Jagjeet (Jeet) Bindra (MA 1970, CoE, ChemE), and his wife Jan (BA 1970 College Of Arts & Sciences, Spanish) are co-chairs, along with Pat Shanahan, of the College of Engineering Campaign Committee. Since Jeet's retirement from a distinguished 32-year career at Chevron, the Bindras have focused on spending time with their children and grandchildren and increasing their philanthropic and volunteer involvement with the UW, where they met. In addition to their service on the Campaign Committee, their UW giving — which includes a fellowship, a Career Development Professorship and support for an Innovation Lab in Chemical Engineering — has exceeded $650,000, with more committed. Jeet was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by the department of chemical engineering in 1997, and received the college's 2008 Diamond Award for Distinguished Achievement in Industry.

"I come from a very poor Indian family. I came to Seattle to get my master's in 1969 with two pairs of clothes and eight dollars in my pocket, and received a very good education in the department of Chemical Engineering. Our success is due to the foundation we received at the UW, and it's my belief that once you are successful in life, it's your responsibility to help those who come behind you. And what better way than to help your alma mater with scholarships, professorships, or whatever way you want to do it? Just looking at the Bindra Innovation Lab, for example — a small gift from us enabled that lab to have dedicated space with equipment. I met with some professors who were thrilled to have a lab in which they would be teaching. And the students said they loved the lab because it gave them the opportunity to do some independent work. It's so gratifying to see that the money is being used to make an impact on the young minds of tomorrow." —Jeet Bindra

ESTABLISHED:

1984 (initially founded as the UW Center for Bioengineering in 1967)

The Department of Bioengineering, administered jointly by the School of Medicine and the College of Engineering, is one of the first bioengineering departments established in the U.S., and has been ranked among the top ten programs in the nation since its inception. The department's research spans five overarching themes: biomaterials and regenerative medicine, molecular and cellular engineering, instrumentation, imaging and image-guided therapy, systems, synthetic and quantitative biology, and technology to increase access to health care.

CHAIR:

Cecilia Giachelli, W. Hunter and Dorothy Simpson Endowed Chair, Professor

QUICK HISTORY:

• Historical strengths of UW Bioengineering lie in imaging, biomaterials, and molecular engineering. The department received a Whitaker development award in 1989 which led to major growth in molecular engineering research.
• One of UW Bioengineering's core faculty, Lee Huntsman, served as both UW Provost and Acting President.
• The department was scattered across the UW campus before construction of the William H. Foege Building was completed in 2006.

Stephen T. Muench, Ph.D., P.E.
Holder of the Tom and Marilyn Draeger | The Beavers Charitable Trust Endowed Professorship

"The Beavers are truly passionate about construction education and the industry's future. The purpose of this professorship is to encourage graduating civil engineers to pursue careers in heavy civil construction, and I have focused my efforts in four key areas that I believe directly impact students' perception of and interest in the industry: increasing student exposure to heavy civil construction, providing ample opportunities for meaningful internships in heavy civil construction, hiring top-notch new faculty, and defining and promoting the engineer's role in construction. I am optimistic about the future and value the Draegers and the Beavers as resources upon which I can draw to help create interest and excitement around construction engineering in our department." —Stephen Muench