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A Fantastic CBE Centennial Alumni Weekend

Thank you to all of our alumni who came from near and far to join us on March 1-3, 2024, to celebrate our department’s 100th birthday – what a great turnout with 164 alumni, 36 faculty, and nearly 300 total participants!

groups of people stand and talk in front of scientific research posters
Poster session at the CBE Open House

The weekend kicked off with the CBE Open House in Engineering Building 1 on Friday afternoon. In addition to posters detailing the history of the department, our CBE Student Ambassadors gave tours of Centennial Campus, BTEC, and EB1. The AIChE Student Chapter and the ChemE Car Team both had posters, and nearly all of the department’s research was on display with over twenty research posters and laboratory tours hosted by the graduate students. And we had pizza and Howling Cow ice cream to keep everyone happy and remind them of the all-night problem-solving sessions!

Friday evening the Alumni Reunion was held in the Carol Johnson Poole Clubhouse at NC State’s own Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus. Our oldest class attendees were Harold Stroupe and James Myhre from the class of 1962! We had alumni spanning seven decades come together for food, drinks, and a surprise visit from Mr. and Mrs. Wuf.

The next morning, the highlight of the weekend was a lecture by past department faculty members Drs. Richard Felder and Ronald Rousseau, in the old (but somewhat updated) Riddick Hall. Their presentations gave us a small glimpse into the life of the NC State chemical engineering department in the 1970s and the creative process of their enormously successful textbook, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes. The lecture was followed by a two-hour book signing session, many heart-warming stories of impact, a BBQ lunch, and tours of NC State’s Main Campus from our Engineering Student Ambassadors.

a large group of people sit in an auditorium and hold up copies of a textbook that the keynote speakers Drs. Felder and Rousseau wrote.
Alumni show off their textbooks at the Felder & Rousseau lecture

The weekend’s events wrapped up with the CBE Gala on Saturday evening at the StateView Hotel. Alumni had the opportunity to catch up and take photos in our SPARK Photo Booth during the cocktail hour. Prior to dinner being served, attendees were treated to a lively performance by NC State’s oldest all-male a cappella group, Grains of Time. Following the meal, remarks were made by the Department Head Sindee Simon, the Louis Martin-Vega Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Jim Pfaendtner, and former Department Heads, Drs. Peter Fedkiw, Ruben Carbonell, and Hal Hopfenberg. 

As we look toward our next 100 years of innovation, growth, and research, we extend our deepest gratitude to all of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni that have gotten us to this point. Go CBE Wolfpack!

 

View the pictures from the CBE Gala Photo Booth here.

View pictures from the rest of the weekend here.

View the Felder and Rousseau lecture here.