Michael and Patricia Aldredge

The Michael E. and Patricia P. Aldredge Chair of Engineering was established in January 2001.

Mike and Pat are 1965 and 1961 graduates of Lamar University, respectively. Mike earned his degree in industrial engineering and began a career with Puffer Sweiven, a Houston-based distributor of process instrumentation. His career with Puffer Sweiven took him from clerk to chairman of the board and chief executive officer before retiring in 2000. He and Pat live on a Bellville-area farm where they manage a commercial operation with purebred Limousin, Simmental and Angus cattle.

Thomas C. Ho

Honored as Lamar 2001 University Professor for his teaching excellence, T.C. HO is a 19-year faculty member and author of more than 50 scholarly papers. He has attracted more than $1.4 million in grants to support his research in chemical engineering.

A registered professional engineer, Ho earned his doctorate and master's degrees from Kansas State University and his bachelor's degree from the University of Taiwan.

At Lamar, Ho has taught nine different master's- and doctoral-level courses and nine undergraduate courses in engineering and chemical engineering. He has supervised six doctoral field studies and 26 master's theses.

As holder of the Aldredge Chair in Engineering, Ho will promote research excellence and collaboration in the areas of industrial engineering, chemical engineering and information technology. While addressing an array of research areas, the chair will focus primarily on the chemical process industries.

Among the areas of research emphasis will be process control, process optimization, plant safety, equipment reliability, waste management and air quality modeling. He also serves as the director of the Gulf Coast Hazardous Substance Research Center housed on the Lamar University campus.