With $20M Investment, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering Named for Ross W. Lampe Jr.

February 12, 2025

Ross W. Lampe Jr., an NC State alumnus, philanthropist and visionary in the field of biomedical engineering, has committed a transformative $20 million investment to the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering (Joint BME) at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With approval by the NC State University Board of Trustees and in accordance with the program naming agreement, the department will be renamed the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at NC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill.

The investment will significantly advance Joint BME’s mission to unite engineering and medicine to improve lives. Lampe’s contribution will further the department’s innovative, collaborative and world-class research that translates to solutions for society. The funding creates the third named department at NC State and is the second-largest investment in the College of Engineering’s history. “The Lampe family has been integral to the fabric of NC State for four generations,” says Randy Woodson, chancellor of NC State. “The naming investment Ross Lampe has dedicated to the Joint BME department will help fuel the innovative work done by our scholars for many generations to come.”

The funding positions Joint BME to continue growing its research investments in strategic areas while granting the department the ability to quickly respond to emerging project opportunities as the fields of science and engineering evolve.

“This generous investment to the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering will empower our faculty and students to drive groundbreaking innovations in health care,” says Lee H. Roberts, chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill. “Ross Lampe is building a legacy of excellence in cutting-edge research and education that will further the robust national strength of Carolina and NC State’s health care efforts. His investment will shape the future of medicine and improve lives across North Carolina and beyond.”

Lampe, a former member of the Board of Directors for the NC State Engineering Foundation, has been a generous supporter of the College of Engineering for two decades, along with other family members, with support that includes four endowed distinguished professorships in various disciplines.

Lampe earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from NC State in 1977 and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. He is currently working toward an additional doctorate in comparative biomedical sciences in NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering was founded as a transformative collaboration between the NC State College of Engineering and the UNC School of Medicine in 2003, with a mission to “unite engineering and medicine to improve lives.” The College of Arts and Sciences incorporated the undergraduate program at UNC in later years to have the full academic curriculum at both universities. The joint department has seen impressive growth, largely driven by the hiring and retention of leading faculty, a curriculum that prepares students to excel in the biomedical workforce, and faculty members’ and students’ innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.

“The Lampe endowment is a once in a lifetime opportunity which will have a truly transformative impact on the joint department,” said Paul A. Dayton, William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor and department head and chair of the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. “This substantial investment, endowed in perpetuity, will enable Joint BME to expand the current research, development, and economic impact of our faculty and students, and provide the flexibility to rapidly explore new opportunities. We are beyond excited.”

In addition to 50 primary teaching and research faculty members, the department is home to 600 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students who have opportunities to collaborate across schools of pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, veterinary medicine and textiles.

The department focuses on five major areas: biomedical imaging, biomedical microdevices, rehabilitation engineering, regenerative medicine and pharmacoengineering.

For more information about the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, please visit the department’s website.