A few weeks into the spring 2025 semester, when classes were in full swing and the novelty of a new calendar year was starting to wear off, two announcements about alumni generosity transformed the trajectories of two NC State College of Engineering departments.

On Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, the university’s Board of Trustees approved two significant philanthropic investments from two alumni: Ross W. Lampe Jr. ‘77 to name the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Lawrence (Larry) Twisdale Jr. ‘69, ‘70 to create an endowed department head position in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.

“These are the kinds of gifts that usually only happen once every decade. Being able to announce two in the same week was truly exceptional,” said Jim Pfaendtner, Louis Martin-Vega Dean of Engineering. “The impact will extend for generations to come.”

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‘Truly Transformative Impact’

The Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering’s mission is to unite engineering and medicine to improve lives — and Ross Lampe’s $20 million investment will enhance the department’s work to translate its innovative research into solutions that help society.

For Lampe, a lifelong learner currently working on a Ph.D. in comparative biomedical sciences from NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, this gift is a testament to the dedication of the faculty he has observed.

“This gift is a leap of faith that I hope will inspire others,” he said.
The endowment establishes the third named department at NC State and is the second-largest gift in the College of Engineering’s history.

“The Lampe endowment is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which will have a truly transformative impact on the Joint Department,” said Paul A. Dayton, William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor and department head and chair of Lampe Joint BME.

Lampe has deep ties to NC State. Some of his earliest memories are visiting campus to see his grandfather, J. Harold Lampe, who served as dean of the College of Engineering from 1945 to 1962.

Lampe earned his degree in industrial engineering from NC State in 1977, followed by master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. He founded SiteLink Software, a leading company supporting the self-storage industry, in 1998. He and his family have made several contributions to the college over the years, including four named professorships.

“The College of Engineering is very, very good,” Lampe said. “I want to help it keep growing to be first-class across the board. We have to get that critical mass of top faculty, resources and tools. That’s expensive.”

With this philanthropic investment from Lampe, the department plans to:

• Provide comprehensive support for faculty research and entrepreneurial efforts in biomedical microdevices, medical imaging, pharmacoengineering, rehabilitation engineering and regenerative medicine
• Establish an Innovation Fellowship program to enhance research translation, commercialization and entrepreneurship
• Provide resources for high-impact science with state-of-the-art infrastructure
• Build its national and international reputation through successful new initiatives
• Facilitate the allocation of new faculty positions, space and resources

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‘I Want NC State to Be the Best’

Larry Twisdale has always known NC State is excellent — and has the potential to be the best. He wants everyone else to see it, too.

He and his wife Fran made gifts totalling $4 million to the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. They established the first named department head position in the College of Engineering — the Twisdale Family Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department Head — and created a second named professorship. He has also indicated plans for an estate gift aimed at attracting talented faculty and students to the department.

“I want NC State to be the best — academics, research, teaching, athletics, everything — and be recognized for it,” he said. “My NC State civil engineering education was excellent. I want to help the department grow, become more connected to alumni, and improve its national stature in academics, teaching and research.”

“Larry’s generosity exemplifies the profound connection between our alumni and the department,” said Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, who now holds the title of the Twisdale Family Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering Department Head. “His philanthropic spirit inspires our researchers, donors and students, reinforcing the upward trajectory of our department, college and university.”

Twisdale earned his B.S. in civil engineering in 1969, followed by a Master of Civil Engineering in 1970, both from NC State. He received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois.

He became a national leader in using probabilistic simulations to analyze the safety and reliability of 3-D structural systems, including nuclear power plants.

“A department needs sufficient funding for endowments, professorships, fellowships and scholarships to realize its potential and to strengthen its faculty and students,” Twisdale said. “I believe this gift will help in that regard. We have a large alumni base, so all gifts, large and small, can aggregate to something significant over time.”

With this gift from Twisdale, the department plans to:

• Provide new and recurring flexible resources that the department head can direct toward their vision and areas of greatest opportunity or need
• Support recruitment efforts for undergraduate students, as well as top graduate students — a collegewide priority to elevate its reputation and expand its research
• Invest in critical research to design and deliver solutions that power communities forward
• Support efforts to attract preeminent faculty members
• Foster alumni engagement to connect a strong North Carolina-based alumni group