Long-time College of Engineering Donor Endows Chemical Engineering Department

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Ralph E. Martin, an alumnus of the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas, has made a gift of $5 million to the College of Engineering to endow the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. Upon receipt of the approval of the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, his gift will be used to create an endowment for faculty and student positions within the department.

UA Chancellor John A. White said, "This gift will have an extraordinary impact on the quality and breadth of the chemical engineering program. It is an important legacy for Ralph Martin's personal and professional achievements. The endowment will strengthen the department's research and development partnerships with business and industry, assist in attracting the highest quality students and faculty, and assure that University of Arkansas chemical engineering students continue to maintain a competitive edge in the global marketplace."

"To say that we're thrilled by the magnitude and potential impact of this gift is an understatement," said Ashok Saxena, dean of the College of Engineering. "Ralph Martin's longtime support and his latest gift will have a profound impact on all chemical engineering students and professors for years to come."

With this endowment, the department will be positioned to attract nationally recognized professors and researchers from around the world, in areas such as biomedical engineering and homeland security. An additional concentration will be green engineering, which focuses on developing environmentally benign methods of industrial production. The endowment will also be used to create doctoral fellowships, designed to increase the number of Ph.D. graduates from the department. Martin previously established an academic enrichment fund in 1994 that will continue to enhance the department's teaching and research programs.

Vice Chancellor for University Advancement G. David Gearhart said, "We're grateful for Ralph Martin's generosity and are honored that we have an opportunity to name the chemical engineering department for him."

Tom Spicer, head of the department said, "Ralph Martin has been a great influence on chemical engineering students at the University of Arkansas. His distinguished career shows that UA chemical engineering graduates can take their place among America's leaders in business and industry."

Martin, a native of Eureka Springs, graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1958 and a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1960. He is the founder of PetroFac Inc., of Tyler, Texas, a single-source supplier for the hydrocarbon-processing industry that grew into an international corporation. Currently retired, he continues to serve as chairman of the board. He holds patents for the treatment of emulsions, the desalinization of brackish waters and the desalinization of crude oil. Martin also founded Eagles Bluff, a country club and residential community on Lake Palestine in Bullard, Texas.

"I'm grateful for the education I received at the University of Arkansas and it means a lot to me to be able to give back to the institution that gave me so much," he said.

Martin is a member of the College of Engineering Hall of Fame and has provided leadership as a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council and the College of Engineering Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Committee.

"This represents an important step toward the overall goal of the College of Engineering: to become and be perceived as one of the top tier graduate and undergraduate engineering programs in the U.S.," said Saxena.