On September 23, 2010, the School of Chemical Engineering will honor William Greer (BSChE ’45, MSChE ’49), Harold Igdaloff (BSChE ’47), and Peter Kraemer (BSChE ’88) with the Outstanding Chemical Engineer Award.

The School of Chemical Engineering has a tradition of recognizing alumni who have achieved distinction as leaders in their careers and who have shaped the chemical engineering profession. Over the years, only 125 of the school’s 9,000 alumni have been accorded this prestigious award. Today, the School of Chemical Engineering faculty honor William Greer, Harold Igdaloff and Peter Kraemer as the recipients of the 2010 Outstanding Chemical Engineer Award.

William Greer, BSChE ’45, MSChE ’49

William Greer retired from Eli Lilly in 1982 as the Executive Director for Production Services in Indianapolis, Indiana. This division included Quality Control, Technical Services and Machinery Developments. Greer graduated from Purdue University in 1945 with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. While at Purdue, Greer joined the United States Navy Reserve and following graduation, he was sent to Oahu, Hawaii for assignment. While there, Greer was appointed “special courier” and was able to watch the first Atomic Bomb Test from the deck of the Flagship Mount McKinley. In 1949, he completed the requirements for a Master’s in chemical engineering and on November 1, 1949 became employed as a Materials Control engineer at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis.

Greer was promoted in 1953 to Biochemical Engineer in the Antibiotics Division and was later promoted again to Director of Production, Eli Lilly du Brasil SA where he designed facilities for Argentina and Brazil. In 1960, Greer and his family moved to Caracas, Venezuela where he was promoted to General Manager. In 1965, Greer helped establish the branch of Eli Lilly in Kobe, Japan and was elected Vice President of Japan Elanco. During his time in Asia, Greer became Vice President , Eli Lilly International for the Asian area, President of Lilly Philippines and Indian corporations.

Upon returning to the United States in 1970, Greer and his family moved to Indianapolis where he remained as Vice President and continued his travel to overseas operations. In 1975, Greer began his final role with Eli Lilly as Executive Director for Production Services. Since retiring, Greer has served as the Director of the Indiana region for the Classic Car Club and National Director for six years in membership and publications. In addition, he founded the Stutz Club, Inc. and has been a trustee of the Classic Car Club of America Museum for over 20 years. Greer and his wife, Carolyn, have been married for almost 60 years, been members of the Purdue President’s Council for 37 years and he is a life member of the Purdue Alumni Association. Bill and Carolyn have 2 children that both graduated from Purdue and 2 grandchildren who graduated from Purdue as well.

Harold Igdaloff, BSChE ’47

Harold Igdaloff is the President of Sungro, a company he started in 1969 with the purchase of Gro-Lyfe, a liquid fertilizer company. In 1968, Harold purchased Best Container and the following year, he also purchased a packaging business from a division of Gillette. In 1970, Sungro was expanded to include pest control and cleaning products. Harold moved the plant in 1974 to its current location in mid-city Los Angeles. In 2007, the operations were sold to Sungro Products, LLC. Harold graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue in 1947. He went to the University of Michigan and received a Master’s in chemical engineering in 1948. Harold also served in the United States Army from 1946-1948 in the Infantry and Corps of Engineers.

Harold began his career in 1948 at the Plaskon division of Libby Owens Ford Glass Company as a Development Engineer. He then went to Barrett Division of Allied Chemical Company in 1953 as a Senior Engineer where, in addition to manufacturing, he was responsible for being the liaison between the research labs, process development and manufacturing. In 1959, Harold moved to Lynwood, California to become the Chief Engineer for Specialty Resins. Harold was responsible for all engineering activity associated with the facility and again was the liaison between research and manufacturing. All of these opportunities prepared Harold for his next role as the Vice President of operations for Silmar Chemical Company in Hawthorne, California. This facility designed and manufactured polyester resins which led Harold to start his own company in 1969.

Harold has also been very active in many other philanthropic organizations including being a founding member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers local chapter in Toledo, Ohio. He has also served as a board member of the national Small Business Association and California Small Business Association. He was honored by the SBA with the National Innovation Award in 1998 and served as the Southern California delegate to the White House conference on small business. Harold was married to his wife Evelyn for over 50 years, who passed away in 2008 and they have 3 children.

Peter Kraemer, BSChE ’88

Peter Kraemer is currently the Vice President for Supply for Anheuser-Busch InBev and is responsible for all North American operations. His duties include overseeing operations in agriculture to container manufacturing in the United States and Canada. Kraemer is a fifth generation brewmasters and his great great grandfather started brewing in Budapest, Hungary where he was the brewmaster of the Kobanya Brewery. During World War II, Kraemer’s father moved his family to Germany and worked in brewing until 1958 when he was invited to train as a brewmaster at Anheuser-Busch by his great uncle. Kraemer grew up around the Anheuser-Busch St. Louis brewery and admired his father’s brewing career. While growing up, his father encouraged him to follow his passion and suggested if he wanted a career in the brewing industry, he recommended studying chemical engineering.

Kraemer graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue and went to work as a brewing apprentice at the Warstein Brewery in Warstein, Germany. Soon after, Kraemer accepted an entry level position at the Anheuser-Busch Tampa Brewery back in the United States. Kraemer decided to return to school and earn his MBA from St. Louis University while continuing his career at Anhesuer-Busch’s flagship brewery in St. Louis. In 1996, he was named brewmaster of the St. Louis Brewery. Kraemer reached out to Purdue and began a college recruiting program for entry level employees and began serving on the Industrial Advisory Council in 1998. After serving for 10 years, Kraemer was asked to join the Executive Committee.

In addition to Kraemer’s involvement with Purdue, he is active in the local public schools and helped spearhead the FIRST Robotics Program. Recently, he was proud to see the FIRST St. Louis team advance to the Boilermaker Regional competition. Kraemer and his wife, Nancy, have five children ranging from the age of ten to infant.