CHEE Alumnus Delivers Keynote At Homecoming 2019

Andy Harris, a 1987 CHEE graduate and CEO of Vantage Specialty Chemicals, delivered the keynote address for the College of Engineering's  56th annual Engineers Breakfast at Homecoming 2019. 

Harris focused his address on the jojoba bean, a seed native to Arizona and used by Native Americans for hundreds of years. Today, it provides a sustainable alternative to the microbeads and chemicals used in everyday products like makeup and body wash. Engineers play an important role in processing jojoba, from harvest through to refinement.

“It uses just about every area of engineering,” Harris said. “From mechanical to civil to agricultural to environmental to systems and process engineering, all of these different things bring a seed from the desert into a usable oil form.”

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins also took the podium to speak about the college’s importance to the future of the university – and the world.

“This talk hit on all of the points, from the environment to agriculture to engineering to consumer products,” Robbins said. “That is the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Harris is also the recipient of the  2019 UArizona Alumni Achievement Award.