This scholarship was established in October 1995, by Judith Wright and Ronald D. Harris and friends in memory of their son, Todd. The scholarship is awarded to chemical engineering undergraduates/graduates, with preference to those for whom the scholarship will make a meaningful difference.
Todd David Harris was born on June 26, 1965, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He died in a car crash on August 6, 1987, after being hit by a drunk driver on a rural road in Texas. Todd was 22 years old. He had graduated just 75 days earlier from the University of Texas.
Todd’s mother and father, and friends, have created this scholarship to perpetuate his memory and as a way to celebrate the things in which he believed. Todd was enthusiastic about university life, being around and working with young people, and at the prospect of becoming a practicing engineer. He graduated with honors from the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Texas in Austin. Todd and his father used to debate the relative values of chemical and mechanical engineering, but agreed that both were broad based disciplines that provided unlimited opportunities in a wide range of industries. Todd began his career at Electrospace Systems in Richardson, Texas, expecting to work awhile there before considering graduate school. He never got the chance to show what he could do or to help the engineering profession. Perhaps this scholarship in his memory will do that.
Todd’s parents chose Ohio State and the Chemical Engineering Department as beneficiaries of this endowment because of a long and deep involvement with the University. His father Ron received B.Ch.E. and M.Sc. degrees from the department and later was named a Distinguished Alumnus. Todd’s mother Judy earned a B.A. in music. Judy’s father taught ROTC at Ohio State and Ron’s father is a Professor Emeritus on the College of Pharmacy. Both parents spent their high school and college years in Columbus and have been active with Ohio State ever since.
Ron’ career involves the development of consumer products, which has taken the family all over the country as he worked for different companies, mostly in the food industry. Todd was born in Cincinnati, the first of three children. His brother Scott was also born there. His sister Susanna was born in Dallas. Todd grew up in Ohio, California and Texas. His values reflected his mid-western roots.
In a talk on personal strengths and weaknesses he once gave to his speech class , he pointed out “I am a really good listener and people find me easy to talk to. I can always help by letting them know I understand and can relate to their problems.” He cared a great deal about his roommates, fraternity brothers, younger brother and sister, parents and grandparents, friends, and even cats, dogs and little kids. He was extraordinarily loyal to them all. He was big and tall, but gentle and easy going. His relationships were such that he lead by example, without knowing it or thinking much about it. He was every inch a gentleman.
Todd was also pretty well rounded. Every one of his parents and grandparents were college graduates, and saw to it that Todd had the kind of experiences that broaden horizons. His mother has a trained soprano voice and a graduate music degree, so he was exposed to a wide range of music. (He played a bass clarinet.) She and her parents came from Illinois but lived all over the world.
His father is involved in local politics as well as engineering, and has a graduate business degree. Todd’s grandfather Harris retired as Dean of the Pharmacy College at the University of Oklahoma, his maternal grandfather was a career army officer, and both of his grandmothers were articulate, involved, active persons. Thus, Todd had high standards and expectations.
Todd graduated on schedule with honors and still took the time to have an active social like on campus. He was in a social fraternity, heavily involved in intramural sports and in the student chapter of ASME. He was selected for Tau Beta Pi and other honorary societies. He simply could not lie, or cheat, or not honor a commitment. He let his friends and girlfriends know how he felt. Yet, he never considered himself to be better than others and was therefore a likable guy. His attitude was always positive.
Todd was very positive about engineering, also. He did get to work on two projects that were commercialized. His favorite project at Electrospace (he worked there summers while in school) was the design of a deflector device to keep the aluminum chaff that confuses enemy radar from being sucked into aircraft engines. In school, he led a senior project team that designed a system for storing energy for release in off peak hours, sponsored by Texas Instruments. He was proud of both projects, particularly once he realized that he could apply what he had learned in class to real problems. His supervisors and professors all spoke well of him.
Todd’s death caused great sorrow to all who knew him. He is missed and still has a significant place in their hearts. Hopefully, Ohio State will use this scholarship wisely. Todd’s parents have asked that it be granted to someone for whom the support will make a significant difference in their life. In this way, Todd can keep on contributing to others.
Click here to read more about Todd.