Alumnus Bill Bender ‘87 and Professor of Chemistry Jeffrey A. Rood (L-R)
Elizabethtown College’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Department presented alumnus Bill Bender ‘87, Ph.D. with the Oscar F. Stambaugh Outstanding Alumni Award. Bender was recognized during a celebration over Homecoming and Family Weekend.
The accolade is presented to a graduate of Etown in recognition of distinguished professional contributions in chemistry or medicine. It is given in honor of Professor Oscar F. Stambaugh for his many years of service and leadership at the College.
Bender, who majored in Chemistry with a minor in Computer Science at Etown, is a Director in the Koch Labs Capability at Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) in Wichita, Kansas. His role at KDT, which is a venture-stage technology investing business in Koch Industries, is to connect the entrepreneurs leading the companies that KDT invests in with subject matter experts, along with deployment and business opportunities, and capabilities from across Koch industries and their network.
Before KDT, Bender spent 14 years at The Dow Chemical Company and 12 years at INVISTA, which is a subsidiary of Koch Industries. He led a variety of laboratory, technology, engineering, product & process development, innovation, and tech marketing capabilities across several business units.
Bender has been a member of the USA Triathlon National team since 2020 – most recently representing the USA at the 2022 World Championships in Montreal.
During his time at Etown, Bender was an accomplished student who was named the Outstanding Student of the College on three occasions and served as Captain of the cross country and swimming teams. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech in 1992.