50-year Chemical Engineering Reunion on campus
We were delighted to welcome the class of 1978 Chemical Engineering back to campus for a reunion last month.
This group met in Guildford 50 years ago and although they all now live in different parts of the country and the globe they still regularly get together. This bunch of friends have hosted several reunions previously, but this marked a special moment – returning to Surrey and celebrating 50 years since they started at Surrey.
The day kicked off with a tour of the Chemical Engineering labs by Professor Esat Alpay which have changed a lot since their day. Then it was back to the classroom for a trip down memory lane – they all remembered who used to sit in the back row and who used to arrive late!
The tour was followed by a lunch with President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Max Lu, who unveiled a plaque in The Hive to honour and celebrate the generosity of donors Cled Cole (BSc Chemical Engineering 1978) and Val Cole (BSc Human Biology) who met as first year students at Surrey 50 years ago. The couple have 2 sons – one of them Mark accompanied them on the visit to see where his mum and dad met!
Cled and Val’s generosity has been transformational in supporting students and donating to the Hardship Fund over the years and we are so grateful to them.
It was wonderful to welcome Surrey alumni from all over the world to reunite, reflect on their time here and see the exciting developments at their University.