Helmerich family pledges $9M for OSU-Tulsa's Research and Technology Center

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Oklahoma State University announced Wednesday that Walter and Peggy Helmerich, along with The Helmerich Foundation, are pledging $9 million to OSU-Tulsa’s first research and technology development center, which will be named the Helmerich Advanced Technology Research Center.

“This is a monumental gift and a substantial boost to our vision of building a center that will be a state and national model for academic and economic stimulation through innovative university-industry collaboration,” OSU System CEO and President David J. Schmidly said. “We are extremely proud that our new Advanced Technology Research Center now bears the Helmerich name.

“The Helmerich gift, along with the commitment of the people of Tulsa through VISION 2025 and the state bond issue, will allow us to create a facility that will attract world-class faculty and propel OSU-Tulsa to new levels of achievement."

OSU-Tulsa will begin construction on the 123,000-square foot Helmerich Advanced Technology Research Center in October and hopes to open the center in fall 2007. The city of Tulsa committed $30 million through its 2025 initiative and the state committed $12.9 million through its higher education capital bond issue to make the center a reality.

“This is a unique opportunity for our family and our foundation to support research and technology development that can truly make a difference here at home and around the world," Walter Helmerich said "There is exciting potential to leverage the fundamental research conducted at OSU-Tulsa’s new center into commercially successful enterprises. The ATRC will make a lasting impact on the Tulsa economy.”

The Helmerich Foundation was created in 1965 by Walter Helmerich and his father. The Helmerichs have been valuable supporters of OSU. Walter Helmerich was a leader in the campaign to renovate OSU’s historic Gallagher-Iba Arena and Peggy Helmerich has been an influential supporter of the OSU Centennial Commission and the Friends of OSU Edmon Low Library.

“We are truly grateful to the people of Tulsa and the state for their commitment to this state-of-the art center,” OSU-Tulsa President Gary Trennepohl said. “This gift from The Helmerich Foundation gives us the ability to completely outfit all laboratories with the latest scientific equipment needed to reach the center’s full potential. The Helmerich ATRC launches an important new chapter in the life of OSU-Tulsa.”

Karl Reid, dean of the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, is excited about what the Helmerich ATRC will mean to the Tulsa region and to Oklahoma.

“Our vision for the Helmerich ATRC is that it will be a national model for economic stimulation through university research and technology development," Reid said. “The center will have a huge impact on our ability to attract faculty who are competitive with the best, to prepare our graduates to be intellectual leaders in technology-based organizations, and to make a difference in new enterprise development."

When fully operational, Trennepohl said he expects the center to house 40 faculty and 100 graduate students with a payroll of $8.5-to-$10 million. The $9 million Helmerich gift, which will be paid over five years, will help pay construction costs and for the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment for the center’s core and thrust laboratories.

The Helmerich ATRC will focus on four strategic research and technology development thrusts that are part of the fabric and the future of the Tulsa region – materials science and engineering, bio-based technologies, energy technologies, and information and control technologies.

Across these four areas, the ATRC will focus on development of advanced materials that are derived from the application of nanotechnology to biological and biomedical materials, ceramics, composites, sensors, aerospace materials, polymers,and metals.

“It is the scope of work and what it can mean to energy, aerospace and other industries in our region and our state that is truly exciting,” Walter Helmerich said.