Alumnus Gives Back to Award He Received

Left: Derryl York (right) receiving the David Arthur Berman Memorial Award from Department of Chemical Engineering Chair Joe Marchello (left) in May, 1966. He still has the certificate hanging in his home. Right: Dr. York today.

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) alumnus Derryl York (B.S. '67 and Ph.D. '70) recently donated $1000 to the David Arthur Berman Memorial Award fund. York himself won the award in 1966.

"We are always glad to receive donations, but I think they have special meaning when they come from someone who has benefited in the past," said ChBE Professor and Chair F. Joseph Schork.

The David Arthur Berman Memorial Award was established in 1957 by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Herman Berman, parents of the late David Berman, a former student. The award recognizes students majoring in chemical engineering at UMCP who have the highest cumulative academic averages at the end of the first semester of their junior year and who have been elected to Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society.

When York won the award, it was $50—today it is up to $1000. His wife Martha, whom he married before he became a student, still remembers it well: "It doesn’t sound like much [money] by today’s standard," she wrote in a recent e-mail, "but it really helped at the time!" (She also "well remember[s] staying up all night and helping type his dissertation the night before it was due"!)

York worked for Amoco Corporation for 30 years, first in research and later in petroleum production. His career saw him involved in international operations for the company in Europe, Central America, and South America. He feels the chemical engineering education he received at Maryland contributed to his success. "The broad education in chemistry, math, and related physical sciences was an excellent preparation for my work assignments," he wrote in an e-mail, "Even today I’m still glad I chose chemical engineering as my college major."

Since retiring in 1999, York has been involved in volunteer activities including substitute teaching at his local high school. He also enjoys cycling, golfing, and traveling.

His gift to the award fund also benefits the university's Great Expectations campaign. To learn more about how you can make a difference in the Clark School's progress, please contact Stu Stabley.

Published August 27, 2008