Robert Greene (first chair of the Dept. of Welding Engineering, left) and Harry Ebert in 2010.
credit: John Lippold
This scholarship was established in April 1985 by Harry and Hanni Ebert and their friends and family.
Harry was born in 1925 in Mannheim, Germany and later fled to Holland because of Nazi persecution. In 1940, he moved to the United States and attended Ohio State until he was drafted by the U.S. military in 1943.
In the service, Harry was assigned to an elite intelligence unit known as the Ritchie Boys during WWII. The Ritchie Boys were a brotherhood of mostly German-born Jewish immigrants who played a vital role in helping the Allies defeat the Germans.
While stationed in Germany, Harry met his future wife, Hanni. After war, Harry returned to Ohio State to finish his degree in the newly formed Department of Welding Engineering. Harry was a proud ’48 alumnus and a member of the first graduating class of welding engineers. He went on to work for various engineering firms, retiring from Exxon as the principal welding engineer. Harry also continued to serve in the Army Reserve, where he went on to become Colonel.
Harry and Hanni established their scholarship in 1985 to benefit welding engineering students, especially immigrants, children of immigrants and veterans. Colonel Harry Ebert received the Ohio State College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010. Harry passed away in 2014 and was preceded in death by his wife Hanni who passed away in 2009.