Two funds created to honor, remember Professor Scott White

T

hroughout his career at the University of Illinois, Scott White influenced people on many levels, but particularly the students he advised and fellow faculty members with whom he worked and conducted research. In keeping with those two spheres of influence, two funds are being created to honor his life.

The Scott R. White Aerospace Engineering Visionary Scholarship has been established by a former student of White to support undergraduate students. What is unique about the EVS is that through the end of 2019, all gifts made to the Engineering Visionary Scholarship Initiative will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $25 million by the Grainger Foundation. This very generous match from the Grainger Foundation includes matching funds provided by employers

The Scott R. White Aerospace Engineering Professorship, which has received a seed gift of $250,000 from White’s wife, Nancy Sottos, is being created to provide faculty support for an individual who has expertise, academic abilities, and research within the field of polymers, polymer matrix composites, or multifunctional polymeric materials. The funds provided by Sottos are matching funds and will encourage additional gifts to move the professorship to its full endowment level of $500,000. 

Because White was recognized globally as an expert in autonomous materials – materials that can adapt or respond on their own—this professorship will help advance the body of knowledge and research in his field.

White’s research group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I. developed self-healing plastics, electronics, batteries and coatings; coatings and materials that indicate when they are damaged or strained; self-destructing devices to reduce electronic waste; and many other innovations to make materials safer and more reliable on both the micro and macro scale. This important work will continue in Scott White’s name and honor.

White passed away this past May at the age of 55. A celebration of his life was held at the Beckman Institute on June 3, and was attended by a large number of current and former students and members of the Autonomous Materials Systems group that he led for two decades. A memorial can be found on the Dept. of Aerospace Engineering website.

For information about how you can participate in growing these two Scott R. White funds, contact Tim Cochrane, associate director of advancement for the Dept. of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois. (tcochran@illinois.edu or 217-333-1149)