The Chemical and Biological Engineering Department of Iowa State University will induct two alumni into its Class of 2014 Hall of Fame. Dr. Joe Cunning and Dr. Judson M. Harper will be honored in a reception, March 27, 2:30 p.m., in Sweeney Hall. Plaques in their honor will be placed on the department’s Hall of Fame wall in the Sweeney Hall lobby. The department launched its Hall of Fame in 2013 as part of its centennial celebration.
Cunning received three chemical engineering degrees at Iowa State – a B.S. in 1958, an M.S. in 1962 and a Ph.D. in 1965. He has risen to worldwide prominence in the field of exploratory, long-range fiber research. He spent 28 years with the DuPont Company working in research and development of different fiber types; and since 1991 has been president of Cunning & Associates, Ltd., which provides consulting services for the textiles research and development community.
Cunning has maintained his connection with Iowa State over the years, from being awarded the College of Engineering Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering (PACE) award in 1988 to currently serving on the Iowa State University Foundation’s Board of Governors. Professional positions and affiliations he has held include serving on President Reagan’s Private Sector Survey of Government Management Practices; and serving as an advisor to the National Academy of Science and National Academy of Engineering.
Harper received a B.S. in chemical engineering in 1958, an M.S. in food technology in 1960 and a Ph.D. in food technology and bacteriology (with minors in chemical engineering and mechanical engineering) in 1963, all from Iowa State.
He worked for General Mills in the 1960s before joining Colorado State University in 1970 as a professor and department head in the Department of Agricultural & Chemical Engineering. There he served a 20-year stint as Vice President for Research, greatly expanding research initiatives and facilities, while also serving as Interim President to the university. In 2002 he was designated Emeritus Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State, a department he initiated. He retired from Colorado State in 2004.