International Businessman Funds Engineering Scholarship

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Joe Y. Chuang of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif., a University at Buffalo alumnus and international businessman has pledged $30,000 to establish a scholarship fund for undergraduate students in UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

Chuang is president of Delta Fine Chemicals in Los Angeles, which has controlling interest in a Chinese pharmaceutical factory that is the largest producer of natural progesterone in the world, and also is the exclusive distributor of its products worldwide, at present predominantly in Europe.

"We're proud of Joe's accomplishments and extremely grateful for his commitment," said Mark H. Karwan, dean of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The Chuang Family Scholarship will be awarded to undergraduate engineering students based on academic merit and financial need.

Chuang, a native of Taiwan, earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Tunghai University in Taiwan, a Christian university established in 1955 by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. He attended the University of Florida for his master's degree before heading to Buffalo for his doctorate.

"In Buffalo you could do any type of research work you wanted," said Chuang. "I really enjoyed and prospered from the free atmosphere the program at UB provided."

After earning his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from UB in 1972, Chuang joined the Max Planck Institute to teach and do research in Dusseldorf, Germany. In the mid-1970s, he returned to the United States, working for Armco Steel Corp. until 1979, when he left the company to pursue his own career in business.

His gift is part of UB's $250 million campaign, one of the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it's the fifth major fund-raising campaign conducted by UB, it's the first national/international campaign, the first university-wide campaign and the first to be alumni-driven with campaign volunteer leaders from all over the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support students ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students and to enhance university life.