3-5-08

Media Release

Peter Johnson Honored with Dan Poling Service Award

CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Oregon State University Alumni Association has presented Peter E. Johnson of Corvallis with the Dan Poling Service Award. He was honored at an awards banquet in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Tuesday, March 4.

Named for an influential dean of men who served OSU for more than five decades, the Dan Poling Service Award recognizes those who have volunteered a significant amount of time to OSU, carrying on Poling’s legacy of dedication to the university.

Johnson has served as a volunteer leader on a College of Engineering department advisory board, on the college’s campaign cabinet, and on the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees.

“Peter Johnson is known as a man of great integrity, and he brings that quality to everything he does,” said Jeff Todd, executive director of the OSU Alumni Association. “OSU has benefited greatly from his loyal and active engagement in the life of the university and especially his dedication to engineering students.”

Johnson, a 1955 chemical engineering graduate, is the founder of Tekmax, Inc., a worldwide leader in battery plate enveloping and automated transfer equipment. Every battery manufacturer in the United States uses the method he developed for making battery separator envelopes. During the time he owned Tekmax, it was ranked third among Oregon’s “Top 100 Places to Work” by Oregon Business magazine.

For his achievements, Johnson has been named to the Oregon Stater Engineering Hall of Fame (2005), was selected as an OSU Alumni Fellow (2001), and was named to the Oregon Stater Academy of Distinguished Engineers (1999).

Johnson and his wife, Rosalie, have endowed the Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Engineering, the holder of which helps OSU engineering students develop skills in communication, organization, project management, and leadership.

Since 2001, some 47 students have received the Peter E. & Rosalie M. Johnson Scholarship which includes summer internships after students complete their first year. Another 10 internships support first-year students each year. The Johnsons believe that work experience is an important part of an engineering education. The Johnson Lounge and Library in the CH2M-Hill Alumni Center are named in their honor.

The Johnsons have two grown sons: Michael E. Johnson, a graduate in education, and David A. Johnson, mechanical engineering.