A Johnstown company has donated analytical chemistry equipment valued at more than $142,000 to Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics.
Concurrent Technologies Corporation is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization. It collaborates with its technology transition affiliate, Enterprise Ventures Corporation, to provide transformative, full lifecycle solutions through research, development, test, and evaluation work.
From left, faculty members Andrada Maicaneanu and Avijita Jain, Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics, with an instrument donated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation.
“CTC’s donation provides IUP faculty and students with an instrument to quantitatively determine the basic building blocks of organic materials in nature (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen),” IUP John J. and Char Kopchick College of Science and Mathematics Dean Steve Hovan said. “With this ability, it opens new avenues for research and provides our students with practical training on equipment commonly used in industry.”
CTC has a long-standing relationship with IUP, having hosted numerous IUP students as interns and employed many IUP alumni through the years.
CTC specializes in engineering and advanced manufacturing, information technology, readiness solutions, and energy, resilience, and sustainability. Its more than 400,000-square-foot facility combines offices, laboratories, and high-bay space which meet Department of Defense security requirements. The high-bay spaces are used to develop and demonstrate advanced manufacturing technologies, as well as to fabricate large-scale, first-of-a-kind prototype structures. The company offers the complete ability to fully design, develop, test, prototype, and build, with the promise of delivering robust, technical, and innovative solutions that safeguard national security, retain US technological advantage, and ensure the primacy of American manufacturing, company official said.
“At Concurrent Technologies Corporation, our mission as a nonprofit applied R&D organization affords us the opportunity to collaborate with institutions of higher learning, and IUP has been a long-time partner,” CTC President and Chief Executive Officer Ed Sheehan Jr. said.
“We are pleased to provide this contribution of laboratory equipment to assist IUP in furthering its mission of providing a world-class education to its students,” Sheehan said. “With many IUP graduates thriving at CTC, we’re pleased to support their alma mater and help equip current students with the resources they need to excel in their studies and future careers. We look forward to continuing our educational partnership with IUP to build a strong, capable workforce."
The Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics is named in honor of IUP alumni William and Audrey DeLaquil Madia, who were cochairs of the National Campaign Cabinet of IUP’s Imagine Unlimited comprehensive campaign. The campaign, which ended in February 2021, raised $81 million, exceeding all previous fundraising campaigns.
The Madias, long-time supporters of science and mathematics initiatives at the university, make their home in Montara, CA, but are Pittsburgh area natives.
William Madia, originally from Swissvale, earned his undergraduate chemistry degree from IUP in 1969 and his master’s degree in physics from IUP in 1971. Audrey Madia, originally from McKees Rocks, is a 1970 home economics graduate.
The Madias were recognized in 2012 with the IUP Alumni Association Volunteer of the Year Award. William Madia is a 1988 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2004, the couple provided funds to establish the William and Audrey Madia Scholarship, which is given to chemistry majors in even years and physics majors in odd years.
In fall 2017 and, more recently, the couple added significant funding to create the William and Audrey Madia Endowment, which supports, in addition to scholarships, research awards and enhancement to the department.
Audrey Madia is the founder of Classic Homes and is an established interior designer.
William Madia is a vice president emeritus at Stanford University, where he was responsible for oversight of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a US Department of Energy national science laboratory. Madia retired from Stanford in October 2019.
He is also president of Madia & Associates, LLC, an executive consulting services firm.
William Madia retired in 2007 as executive vice president of laboratory operations of the Battelle Memorial Institute, a nonprofit independent research and development organization, where he oversaw the management or co-management of six DOE National Laboratories. Madia served in that position beginning in 1999. In addition, he was president and CEO of UT-Battelle, LLC. He managed Battelle’s global environmental business, served as president of Battelle Technology International, president and director of Battelle’s Columbus Laboratories, and corporate vice president and general manager of Battelle’s Project Management Division. Madia also serves on the board of directors of Atkins Nuclear Holding.
The Madia Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics is housed in IUP’s John J. and Char Kopchick Hall, IUP’s new $90-million, 142,000-square-foot mathematics and science building, which opened in January. Kopchick Hall is named in honor of IUP graduates John and Char Labay Kopchick. Long-time IUP supporters, the Kopchicks made a $23-million donation to IUP in April 2018 for science and mathematics initiatives at IUP.
John Kopchick earned a bachelor’s degree in 1972 and a master’s degree in 1975 from IUP, both in biology. Char Kopchick graduated from IUP with an education degree in 1973 and has a master’s degree from Ohio University. John Kopchick earned his PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Texas and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in New Jersey.