CREDIT: Georgia Tech
ATLANTA - Georgia Tech has received a record-setting $100 million donation from the late alumnus John W. Durstine, marking the largest single gift in the school’s history, according to Georgia Tech.
University officials said the funds will transform the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and establish endowed chairs, professorships and faculty awards.
"John Durstine’s historic generosity is deeply inspiring to all of us working to carry out the Institute’s mission," said Ángel Cabrera, president of Georgia Tech. "John could have left his estate to many good causes, and he chose to invest in Georgia Tech’s faculty because he knew firsthand the transformative impact that our outstanding faculty have in the lives and careers of our students. This gift will have an enduring impact and will ensure that Georgia Tech faculty have the resources to push the boundaries of mechanical engineering, inspire our students, and help improve the human condition. His legacy will live on in every discovery, every innovation, and every student who learns from the faculty his gift supports."
Durstine, a Georgia Tech alumnus from Birmingham, Alabama, died in February after a career marked by innovation and quiet generosity. A 1950s graduate of Tech’s mechanical engineering program, he went on to earn an MBA from Harvard before spending more than 30 years at Ford Motor Company, where he helped guide truck design, powertrain strategy and advanced systems engineering.
The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering is among the largest and most prominent programs of its kind in the nation, with more than 110 faculty members and 3,000 students. Its researchers drive innovation in areas ranging from robotics and bioengineering to nuclear technology and artificial intelligence.