At a special seminar on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 the IIT Armour College of Engineering Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering presented the Charles W. Pierce Distinguished Alumni Award to Raymond A. Adomaitis, who received his bachelor’s degree from IIT in 1984 and his doctorate in 1988. He is currently professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Maryland.

The Charles W. Pierce Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to alumni who have brought recognition to the department through their outstanding contributions to the advancement of the chemical and/or biological engineering professions, and to alumni who have shown exceptional dedication to the department through the generous donation of their time, effort, and/or financial resources. The award was renamed in 2007 in honor of the legacy of Charles W. Pierce, the department’s first graduate and first-known African-American chemical engineer.