ESF College Foundation
ESF Launches Career and Alumnus Gives Back

After a "rewarding and interesting career" that lasted four decades, Jeff Southwick '75 has fond memories of the undergraduate years that set him on his career path.

"I had a fantastic time with a career for 40 years and I worked with lots of great people," said Southwick, who recently provided a gift that will name a Centennial Hall lounge in his honor. "I just retired and I thought now is the time to make a donation to ESF. I wanted to give back because my professors meant a lot to me and set me on a good path. I still have warm feelings about ESF."

Southwick's years as an ESF undergraduate coincided with those of some renowned chemistry scholars, including Ronald Eby, who later received the National Medal of Technology for advancements in pediatric medicine; Anatole Sarko, who served as chair of the Department of Chemistry; and Conrad Schuerch, whose major scientific contributions included the study of the chemistry of lignin. During the summer between his junior and senior year, Southwick worked in the laboratory of Eby and Schuerch; and his senior chemistry project was in the Sarko lab where he worked on polysaccharide crystal structures and developed an interest in polymer physical chemistry.

"The chemistry education at ESF was excellent," he said. "The class sizes were small so you really got to know your professors well. They were mentors as well as professors."

After graduating from ESF, Southwick returned to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and earned a Ph.D. in 1980 from Case Western Reserve University in polymer science and engineering. Then he began his career with Shell Research in Houston, Texas.

His work with Shell Research brought him to Belgium, where he lived for seven years, and to the Netherlands, where he lived for nine years. He also spent two years in Malaysia. He worked on a wide variety of projects during his career, from enhanced oil recovery to developing thermoplastic elastomer products for a variety of applications. He said one of the highlights was partnering with scientists from 3M and Avery Dennison Corp. to develop products for the hot-melt coating of adhesives, allowing replacement of solvent-coating operations and significantly reducing atmospheric pollution.

Southwick contributed to more than 30 U.S. patents; received industry awards, including the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal from the Society of Petroleum Engineers; and two best-paper awards at technical conferences.

"My chemistry education at ESF was an excellent start for a long career in research," he said recently from his vacation home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. "I still feel good about the university despite having been gone for 46 years."

His gift puts a moniker on the last student lounge that had remained unnamed in ESF's Centennial Hall. It is the College's first - and only -residence hall. Naming gifts for Centennial Hall provide scholarship funding for residential students to assist with housing expenses.

"Jeff very much liked the idea of naming the student lounge after learning that the entire freshman class is housed there, and how that helps to build an even stronger sense of community for ESF students," said Dana Piwinski, senior director of major gifts in the ESF Office of Development.