With a gift of $1.2 million, chemistry alumni Dr. Ming-Shian Wu and his wife, Justina C. Wu, have established a chemistry professorship at Missouri S&T. The Dr. Ken Robertson Memorial Professorship in Chemistry honors the late Ken Robertson, associate professor of chemistry, who served Missouri S&T for over 40 years as a passionate scientist, educator and advisor known for his dedication to the well-being of students.
Robertson joined Missouri S&T (then University of Missouri-Rolla) in 1965 shortly after earning his Ph.D. in physical and analytical chemistry from Texas A&M University. He was the chemistry department’s primary freshman advisor, director of chemistry undergraduate studies, and advisor to arts and sciences majors. He also was the faculty advisor to the Gamma Xi chapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Robertson served as chair of the university’s Academic Council in 1974-75 and in 1979 was elected dean of students, a position he held until 1987. He became an emeritus faculty member when he retired in 2000 and continued to teach through 2010.
While his focus was primarily on helping students, Robertson participated in many professional organizations and served a term as president of the Missouri Assembly of Faculty in Higher Education. He also found the time for research and publishing his work in crystallography and physical chemistry.
Dr. Ming-Shian Wu earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from National Taiwan University in 1964. Under Robertson’s advisement, he earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Missouri S&T in 1973. During his time on campus, Wu chaired the university’s Taiwanese Student Association for one term. Wu says it was Robertson’s dedicated support and proficiency as his dissertation advisor that helped him successfully complete the doctoral program, well-prepared to embark on his many accomplishments that followed in the biotech industry.
Working with two other Taiwanese American biotech entrepreneurs, Wu co-founded Wyntek Corporation in 2005, a company that develops, manufactures and markets naturally derived products with health care, therapeutic and pharmaceutical applications. Wu served as Wyntek’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, and in retirement, he continues to serve on the company’s board of directors. Earlier Wu co-founded Pacific Biotech, which was acquired by Eli Lilly in 1990, and Wyntek Diagnostics, a point-of-care medical diagnostic test equipment supplier that was acquired by Genzyme Corp. in 2001.
Wu is the co-inventor on two patents, both related to an immunochromatographic device. He serves on the board of the Muzik 3 Foundation and is a member of the World Future Society, the American Association of Clinical Chemistry and several Taiwanese organizations in the San Diego area where the Wus reside.
Justina C. Wu studied doctorate-level quantum chemistry at Missouri S&T, for which she was honored in 1996 by the chemistry department. Before her retirement, she was a senior computer systems analyst. She too, has been heavily involved in her local Taiwanese community.
Through the Wu’s philanthropy, the Dr. Ken Robertson Memorial Professorship in Chemistry will permanently support the research and teaching efforts of a full professor in Missouri S&T’s department of chemistry.
“We are deeply grateful for the Wu family’s generous gift,” says Dr. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, vice provost and dean of Missouri S&T’s College of Arts, Sciences, and Education. “This professorship will empower our chemistry department to remain a catalyst for innovation and discovery, providing students with the tools and opportunities they need to make meaningful contributions throughout their careers.”
