No financial barrier should prevent students from obtaining their licensure through the FE exam
Howard “Skip” Harclerode '70, M.S. '71
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Hometown: Cumberland, Maryland
Howard “Skip” Harclerode is a graduate of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Founder and President of KBD Engineering Company, a process, mechanical, structural, electrical, and environmental processes consulting firm.
Originally from Cumberland, Maryland, the alum recalls the rigorous bachelor’s program that began with a class of 100 students, where 30 would graduate while the rest would dive into other disciplines. In 1971, Harclerode would begin his professional career after finishing his master’s program, where he developed a computer software capable of analyzing multicolumn, multicomponent distillation columns for his thesis, co-advised by UMD’s Department of Computer Science.
At a time where professional societies like the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) did not have student chapters on campus, Harclerode made the best out of the opportunities.
“Inside the basement of Cumberland Hall, the university had recently developed a new career center, which was my avenue with companies in chemical engineering,” he said.
What followed was a 15-year tenure in industry that began with a job in Allan Chemical Corporation, where he moved from New Jersey, Virginia and back to Maryland and ultimately rose to Senior Project Manager during the course of four years.
In 1986, while Harclerode was the Head of Engineering at the former Lever Brothers soap facility in Baltimore, a colleague from Allan Chemical reached out to him in an effort to co-found a construction company. Six years later, after developing a firm with roughly 85 employees, and a value of $3.5 million, the alum decided to part ways from his business partner after uncovering unfair practices.
In the wake of the economic recession of 1992, Harclerode decided to found KBD Engineering Company, which has now been operating for 32 years, becoming the only member of the Maryland Board for Professional Engineers to run a general practice. His son, a chemical engineer from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, now manages the multifaceted firm.
As an engaged member of the External Advisory Board, Harclerode has given back to the department by donating funds to the Unit Operations Laboratory, which provides fundamental experiential learning for the students of chemical engineering. Along with his wife, he contributed to a University System of Maryland scholarship that covers the cost of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam.
“No financial barrier should prevent students from obtaining their licensure through the FE exam,” he said.
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