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2012 Oregon Stater Engineering Awards
College of Engineering
Oregon State University
9
T
om Van Witbeck spent his formative
years moving from coast to coast
and in between because his father’s work
in construction necessitated frequent
moves. The family happened to be in
Westminster, Colo., when Van Witbeck
graduated from high school. He promptly
joined the service and was accepted into
the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School.
Van Witbeck’s traveling did not stop
there. After a 7-year tour in the Navy that
included circumnavigating the globe as
part of Nuclear Task Force One and a
tour in Vietnam, he and his young family
headed to Corvallis, where he attended
Oregon State University on the GI Bill.
He joined the commissioning team for
Oregon State’s TRIGA Research Reactor
and entered the first freshman class in the
nuclear engineering program.
At the time of his graduation in 1970,
veterans with technical nuclear training
and a college degree were in high demand.
Van Witbeck started at Westinghouse as a
senior supervisory service engineer, where
he participated in the commissioning of
commercial nuclear reactors.
Private sector consulting was Van
Witbeck’s next draw as he joined the staff
of a startup called Energy, Inc. Rising
through the company’s ranks to become
the corporate vice president of plant
services, he participated in or directed the
establishment of four nuclear plants and
the Hanford Fast Flux Test Facility.
“My most rewarding experience had
to be going to Three-Mile Island two
days after its historic accident,” says Van
Witbeck. “I was to lead the team that
investigated and produced the sequence
of events reports detailing the chronology
of the accident. I testified at federal
hearings and served on
the committee chartered
to develop the method-
ologies to prevent future
accidents.”
With more than
30 years of managerial and technical
experience in the nuclear industry under
his belt, Van Witbeck started TOMA
Enterprises and provided operations-
related consulting services to nuclear
facilities. He advised senior management
in the recovery and restart of nuclear
facilities at various national laboratories.
Along the way, Van Witbeck ranched
domestic elk in his home state of Idaho.
In support of the elk industry, he served
as the president of the Idaho Venison
Council and as a director of the North
American Elk Breeders Association.
He has also served on the boards of a
number of humanitarian organizations,
including the Tanya English house and
United Way.
Upon retiring, he and his wife Mavis
have traveled and spent time enjoying the
grandchildren. He continues to hunt and
fish, two of his passions.
Thomas L. Van Witbeck
Hall of Fame
Tom Van Witbeck raises domestic elk on his ranch near Rigby, Idaho.
BS Nuclear Engineering ’70
Retired Partner, TOMA Enterprises, LLC
St. Ignatius, Mont.
|
Rigby, Idaho
E
d Yang earned an undergraduate
degree in electrical engineering in
1971 from National Cheng Kung University
in Taiwan. It was expected within his
culture and his family that he would go
abroad to further his studies, so when he
received a unique, full-scholarship offer
from the Philips International Institute in
the Netherlands, he decided to attend.
The institute was co-sponsored by
Philips Electronics and UNESCO (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization) to bring together
international students to study and carry
learning and cultural understanding
back to their native countries. “That was
a wonderful experience for me at a time
when globalization was not yet a common
word,” says Yang.
Yang met Robert A. Short, then chair of
Oregon State’s computer science depart-
ment, at a conference held at the institute,
and Short convinced him
of his educational poten-
tial at the university.
“My first stop in the
United States was in
Corvallis,” says Yang. “I
only spent a year there, but my wife and
I loved the college town atmosphere and
learning about American culture — super-
markets, drug stores, Beavers, and Ducks.”
After earning a master’s degree in elec-
trical engineering, Yang was encouraged
to remain at Oregon State to complete his
doctoral studies, but he was eager to enter
the work force. He joined Hewlett-Packard
in 1977, beginning an illustrious career.
At HP, he established research and devel-
opment centers in Taiwan and China,
developed the company’s China strategy,
oversaw network operations in Singapore,
served as chief technology officer of HP’s
computing systems organization, and led
the enterprise system group integration
during the HP–Compaq merger in 2002.
“I was lucky to be with a single com-
pany for over a quarter of a century in
many different job responsibilities,” says
Yang. “I had a chance to work with won-
derful mentors, colleagues, and customers
around the world.”
The HP–Compaq merger was one of the
largest in the tech world and it propelled
the company high into the Fortune 500
list. “The enterprise integration with
Compaq was not an easy job, but I was tre-
mendously proud to be a part of that time
in HP’s history,” Yang says.
Today, Yang sits on the other side of the
desk as a partner in iD Ventures America,
a venture capital investment firm. “I was
looking for a different platform to make a
contribution,” says Yang. “Joining this ven-
ture fund was an interesting opportunity
bringing my technical and business
management experience together for
United States companies.”
Whether he is addressing startup com-
panies or young Oregon State students
considering a career, Yang has the same
message: “Find something you are pas-
sionate about,” he says. “Then work does
not become a burden and you will be
inspired to do well.”
Edward Yao-Wu Yang
Hall of Fame
The Yang family vacationing in Carmel, Calif.: from left, Ed Yang, Lawrence (son) holding Lulu, Tania
(daughter-in-law with future grandson Reynan), Annie (daughter), and Grace (wife).
MS Electrical Engineering, ’77
Partner, iD Ventures America, LLC
Santa Clara, Calif.
Retired, Vice President &
Chief Technology Officer
Hewlett-Packard
|
Palo Alto, Calif.