Praxair Gift Will Name UB Engineering Professorship

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Praxair, Inc., a valued corporate partner of the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for many years, has pledged a $250,000 gift to establish the Praxair Professor in Operations Research and a $25,000 gift to support the university's annual Business Partners Day.

Mark H. Karwan, UB professor of industrial and systems engineering and dean of the school from 1994 to 2006, will be named to the professorship.

"Through the years, Praxair has benefited from the knowledge and experience of one of UB's most accomplished and respected scholars in the field of operations research," said Steve Lerner, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Praxair.

"It gives us pleasure to be able to honor him through a gift to the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. We enjoy our partnership with UB and look forward to continued collaboration."

Praxair's support of UB includes multidisciplinary optimization research, lecture series, fellowships in chemical engineering, internships, and various sponsorships of UB engineering events.

The gift will complement Karwan's research in the fields of mathematical programming, applied operations and multiple-criteria decision making, and teaching.

Under Karwan's leadership, UB Engineering experienced tremendous growth and development. He initiated numerous new research centers in the school, increased research expenditures, and established a dean's advisory council, a group of industry leaders who assist the school in achieving its goals. He began his UB tenure more than 30 years ago.

Karwan earned bachelor's and master's degrees from The Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2006 sales of $8.3 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available at http://www.praxair.com.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB's more than 27,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.