People Type: Meet the Donors

As a scientist, Margaret Bender investigated radiocarbon dating and the mechanisms of photosynthesis. She worked at UW–Madison as director of the UW Radiocarbon Laboratory and was affiliated with the UW Center for Climate Research and the Institute for Environmental Studies. She was married to former chemistry Professor Paul Bender.

Martha Gunhild Week grew up in northern Wisconsin and graduated with a BS in natural sciences in 1884. In 1922, her will established a fund for women majoring in chemistry.

Bill and Sue McCoy established this scholarship in memory of their son, Michael, who died suddenly in 2010. He was a graduate student in the materials program and a member of the Hamers group. This scholarship honors graduate students who, like Michael, exemplify a love of life, love of people, and love of chemistry.

This award honors Paul J. Bender, who helped create the instrument center, served as its director, and worked for the Department of Chemistry until he retired in 1979.

This scholarship was established through an estate gift from Pei Wang (Ph.D 1952, Chemistry) and provides support for chemistry graduate students.  Dr. Wang focused on metallurgy and devoted much of his career to developing the production of silicon wafers for use in computer memory systems.

PPG established these awards to increase the company’s visibility on campus and to recognize remarkable dedication on the part of student research and of graduate students involved in mentoring undergraduates.

Ralph Hirshmann (Ph.D. 1950, chemistry) established this award in honor of his friend Daniel Rich, a former UW–Madison professor of chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences.

Richard Fischer came to Wisconsin in 1894 and joined the pharmacy program as an instructor. He joined the Chemistry Department in 1909 and later established this scholarship in his will.

Richard Boomer (Ph.D. 1949) set up this fund to support undergraduate and/or graduate students in the Department. Richard served in the US Navy during WWII and the Korean Conflict. He later worked at Abbott Laboratories for 35 years. Richard passed away in 2017, and his complete obituary is here.

Robert Paulick received his PhD in 1976 from the Department of Chemistry at the UW–Madison. Robert and his wife Diane established this scholarship to support undergraduate chemistry majors.