Transformational Investment in Biomedical Engineering Deepens Lampe Family Legacy

A $20 million investment from an NC State alumnus will improve lives by advancing cutting-edge research that unites engineering and medicine – while deepening a family legacy.

The contribution by Ross W. Lampe Jr. names the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. Originally established in 2003, this unique inter-institutional collaboration to advance human health today unites the College of Engineering at NC State with the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The new endowment creates the third named department at NC State and represents the second-largest private investment in its College of Engineering’s history.

Lampe has been a generous supporter of NC State and his home college for many years. This commitment marks his latest step in an arc of championing faculty support that benefits research innovation as well as students preparing for careers.

“Biomedical engineering is an area of tremendous growth and potential,” he said. “The important problems of one generation are not the problems of the next generation. I’m making this investment because I believe in the power of higher education and these bright faculty members to make a difference, and I want to see this department continue to grow and become even stronger.”

His investment will empower the department to sharpen its ability to translate academic research – in realms such as regenerative medicine, drug delivery, biomaterials and biomechanics – into solutions for society and for the commercial marketplace. 

“The Lampe family has been integral to the fabric of NC State for four generations,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said. “The naming investment Ross Lampe has dedicated to the Joint BME department will help fuel the innovative work done by our scholars for many generations to come.”

Lampe’s earliest childhood memories involve visiting his late grandfather, J. Harold Lampe, on NC State’s campus. The elder Lampe served as dean of the College of Engineering from 1945 through 1962, overseeing significant expansion of the college. A road on North Campus bears his name.

As a small child, Ross enjoyed hiding under the big desk in his grandfather’s Riddick Hall office, especially during work catchup sessions on weekends. He still can recall many details of how that room looked.  

He began his own college career at UNC-Chapel Hill, though, studying math. It was a good program, but he just didn’t fit. He transferred to NC State, after deciding that – like many family members – he might be an engineer after all.

“There, I found a home,” Lampe said. “I had a lot of friends. The curriculum was challenging, and they pushed me hard. It was entirely a very positive experience. I liked everything about it.”

In 1977, he earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. A few years later, a master’s and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois followed.

After spending several years in the defense industry, Lampe joined the cellular telephone industry in 1990 and advanced to become Ericsson’s manager of RF technology for North America. He served as the architect for the RF chipset, secured foundry relationships, created an RFIC group and managed its designers. His group performed advance design work that led to dramatic cost reductions and quality improvements in cell phones.

In 1998, Lampe started SMD Software Inc., a leading company supporting the self-storage industry, which he sold a few years ago. Since NC State helped prepare him for career success, he said, it has been only natural to give back to his alma mater.

Although he has resided out of state and overseas, Lampe, who lives again in Raleigh, had little trouble maintaining a connection to NC State. Seventeen family members across three generations have attended the university, after all.

He served on the NC State Engineering Foundation Board, has volunteered in roles including speaking to incoming freshmen and was named a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus award winner for 2010. His father, Ross Lampe Sr., a 1951 graduate in chemical engineering who has served as president of the Guy C. Lee Manufacturing Co. in Smithfield, received the same recognition in 2002.

In 1993, the family created the J. Harold Lampe Engineering Excellence Fund, an endowment providing unrestricted support for the college.

The Lampe name is also on four distinguished professorships at NC State: one in electrical and computer engineering, one in materials science and engineering, and two in biomedical engineering. Ross Jr. led those efforts and has given to other engineering funds too.

It’s not only Wolfpack blood that inspires him. Trust in the institution is paired with faith in the importance of powerful research that makes a difference. A visit to the area of Pompeii, Italy, a few years ago sent him a stark message, he said, about how citizenship built an advanced Roman society 20 centuries ago.       

“People have a lot of choices,” Lampe said. “As you get older, you do think about the legacy that you want to leave behind. A community is no greater than what we all make it. North Carolina will not be greater than what people here make it.

“There’s value in civic duty and community building. I have some money now and it’s time to do something with it.”  

He is particularly motivated by the world-changing research that an endowed professorship allows a researcher to accomplish, and by how support of outstanding faculty members multiplies long-term: attracting research funding, other top and emerging faculty, and good students who become well prepared for the future. All of this, Lampe said, raises the standard of living in North Carolina and beyond. 

The epitome of an intellectually curious lifelong learner himself, Lampe has been working on a doctorate in comparative biomedical sciences from NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. You can, he said, “only travel so often and play so much bad golf, when you retire. I needed a challenge.”

He loves working in a lab, studying cells and understanding what knowledge about animal health might teach us about human health.

“I jumped into the research track and worked my way up,” Lampe said. “What I’ve really enjoyed is the interaction with the people, people with much more experience than I have. I’ve seen firsthand how dedicated the faculty are, and how much respect there is between them and the students and staff.”

He also has learned a lot about the university’s research enterprise – its importance and potential, as well as the tools and resources it requires. The experience helped deepen his philanthropic interest in biomedical engineering.

“The College of Engineering is very, very good,” Lampe said. “I want to help it keep growing to be first-class across the board. We have to get that critical mass of top faculty, resources and tools. That’s expensive.”

The Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering has grown steadily over the past two decades. Today, it includes 50 primary teaching and research faculty members as well as about 600 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students. Because of the alliance between NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill, in addition to engineering, these students benefit from teamwork across schools of pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, veterinary medicine and textiles.

Alumni go on to engineering jobs in the healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. In addition to traditional areas of biomedical engineering, the department’s graduate students select from specialties in biomedical microdevices, medical imaging, pharmacoengineering, rehabilitation engineering and regenerative medicine.

Lampe’s generosity will position the department to continue growing its research investments in strategic areas while granting its leaders the ability to quickly respond to emerging project opportunities and challenges as the fields of medicine, science and engineering evolve.  

“The Lampe endowment is a once in a lifetime opportunity, which will have a truly transformative impact on the joint department,” said Paul A. Dayton, William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor and department head and chair of the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. “This substantial investment, endowed in perpetuity, will enable Joint BME to expand the current research, development and economic impact of our faculty and students, and provide the flexibility to rapidly explore new opportunities. We are beyond excited.”

Dayton said the endowment funds will: 

• provide comprehensive support for the faculty research enterprise and department entrepreneurial efforts, by seeding and supporting research and major grant writing to dramatically increase research funding; 
• increase impact in health care by enhancing commercialization and translation efforts, through an Innovation Fellowship program and faculty-focused entrepreneurial activity; 
• provide resources so that the department can conduct high-impact science with state-of-the-art infrastructure; 
• provide resources so that the department can support impactful new initiatives and communicate its successes, to continue to build its national and international reputation as a world leader; 
• and facilitate the allocation of additional faculty positions, space and resources.

Paired with a $4 million gift from Larry and Fran Twisdale to name the department head position in civil, construction, and environmental engineering, announced earlier this week, Lampe’s investment is a strong indicator of the College of Engineering’s upward momentum as it prepares for major growth through the Engineering North Carolina’s Future initiative.

“I am grateful for the tremendous opportunities Ross has opened up for our faculty members and students,” said Jim Pfaendtner, NC State’s Louis Martin-Vega Dean of Engineering. “His commitment to the university and college is an inspiring example of how alumni can lift their alma mater to new heights.”

Lampe is excited to continue observing, and supporting, how higher education makes the world a better place.

“This gift is a leap of faith that I hope will inspire others,” he said.