Faculty fund to honor engineering excellence

While many of Jim de Broekert's professional accomplishments remain classified information, it's no secret how he feels about his alma mater.

The 1950 OSU alumnus recently made a $100,000 gift to reward outstanding faculty in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

"I feel a great loyalty to OSU," he says. "The Electrical Engineering Department was very well run and I have had a very successful career as a result. An electrical engineering education teaches you how to think creatively and to solve challenging problems in electrical and related disciplines."

The James and Marla de Broekert Endowed Faculty Fund will support outstanding OSU engineers who are addressing some of today's most challenging problems — individuals like John Wager (middle in the photo above), an OSU professor of electrical engineering who is leading groundbreaking work on solar energy.

de Broekert's first job was at North American Aviation (which later became part of Rockwell International and subsequently Boeing), working on defense electronics. When the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was formed in 1960, he was hired by this Department of Defense agency to develop technology used to gather military intelligence via satellite. "I still can't talk much about what I did back then," he says of his top secret work at the NRO.

In 2000, de Broekert was honored by the National Reconnaissance Office as one of 46 "pioneers who made significant and lasting contributions to the discipline of national reconnaissance." OSU's College of Engineering also inducted him into its Engineering Hall of Fame in 2008.

"Support for faculty is essential to recruiting top-notch faculty in the School of EECS and for our drive to be a top-25 program," said Karti Mayaram, Acting School Head. "Jim's gift is a significant step in this direction. We appreciate this generous gift."

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