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The Patten Seminar Series brings notable professors to campus each academic year to speak on research topics across chemical and biological engineering.

James Patten was a native of Clifton, Colorado, and received a BSÌýdegree in chemical engineering in 1924 from the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ, where he was also a football player. His subsequent career was with Cities Service Company in the Midwest and then with J. G. White Engineering Company of New York. The Patten endowment at the University of Colorado was established by a trust in the will of Mr. Patten when he passed away in 1982.Ìý His widow, Catherine Patten, was a graduate of Dary College in Springfield, Missouri. When she passed away in 1983, she left the remainder of the estate and the deed to her house to the Patten endowment, noting that her husband was always grateful for his education at CU. The Patten endowment has supported the Patten Seminar Series and the Patten Distinguished Lectureship in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado.

James M. and Catherine T. Patten Distinguished Lecturers

• 2000Ìý Robert S. Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• 2001Ìý Matthew Tirrell, University of California, Santa Barbara

• 2002Ìý Mark Davis, California Institute of Technology

• 2003Ìý Gregory Stephanopoulos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• 2004Ìý David Tirrell, California Institute of Technology

• 2005Ìý William Koros, Georgia Institute of Technology

• 2006Ìý Pablo Debenedetti, Princeton University

• 2007Ìý James A. Dumesic, University of Wisconsin, Madison

• 2008Ìý Jay Keasling, University of California, Berkeley

• 2009Ìý Frank Bates, University of Minnesota

• 2010Ìý Frances Arnold, California Institute of Technology

• 2013Ìý Harvey Blanch, University of California, Berkeley

• 2013Ìý Jacob Israelachvili, University of California, Santa Barbara

• 2014Ìý Keith Johnston, University of Texas at Austin

• 2015Ìý Jeffrey Hubbell, University of Chicago

• 2016Ìý Paula T. Hammond, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• 2018Ìý Nicholas L. Abbott, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• 2020Ìý Sharon C. Glotzer, University of Michigan

• 2022Ìý Enrique Iglesia,ÌýUniversity of California, Berkeley

• 2024 Rachel A. Segalman,ÌýUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

Upon Mrs. Patten’s death, the James M. and Catherine T. Patten Professorship in Chemical Engineering was formally established.Ìý The endowment supporting this chair has since grown from $2.2 million in 1983 to nearly $7 millionÌýin 2024.

Patten Professors and Chairs

• 1983 – 1985Ìý Max S. Peters — Professor, Patten Chair, Dean
• 1986 – 1990Ìý Klaus D. Timmerhaus — Professor, Patten Chair, Associate Dean, President’s Teaching Scholar
• 1992 – 1996Ìý John L. Falconer — Professor, Patten Chair
• 1997 – 2007Ìý Robert H. Davis — Professor, Patten Chair, Dean
• 2007 – presentÌý Christopher N. Bowman — Professor, Patten Chair
• 2018 – presentÌý Mike McGehee — Professor, Patten Chair
• 2020 – present Ryan Hayward — Patten Professor