Our Stories
Toward Infinite possibility
March 11, 2024
Share:
Mark_Shiflett_Story_Hero
Blandit massa enim nec dui nunc mattis enim ut tellus. Cursus risus at ultrices mi tempus imperdiet nulla. Tincidunt nunc pulvinar sapien et ligula ullamcorper.
Creating WISE engineers
Michelle Keller
AVP, Communications | KU Endowment

If you’ve ever shopped for refrigerated food in a supermarket, you’ve encountered the work of Dr. Mark Shiflett. As a young engineer working for DuPont, he worked on the project that found a replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which were destroying the earth’s ozone layer.

“We cannot live on a planet without the ozone layer,” said Shiflett. “Can you imagine being at the start of your career and being tasked with figuring out how to solve such a complex problem?”

Luckily, he was up to the challenge, developing hydrofluorocarbons, a replacement refrigerant mixture still in use but targeted for replacement as efforts to reduce global warming continue.

That experience had a profound impact on Dr. Shiflett, and it’s one of the things that drives his approach to educating the next generation of engineers. Through the Wonderful Institute of Sustainable Engineering (WISE), he is providing undergraduate and graduate students with

MORE STORIES

Brian and Beth Ellyn McClendon make $4 million gift to KU Engineering to boost recruitment and retention
The University of Kansas has always meant “home” to Brian McClendon. Now he and his wife, Beth Ellyn, have made a $4 million gift to his alma mater to support professorships and a program that helps ensure collegiate preparedness and success for aspiring Jayhawk engineers.
Wagstaff & Cartmell funds million-dollar scholarship at the University of Kansas School of Law
The University of Kansas School of Law announced that the Kansas City–based law firm Wagstaff & Cartmell has made a $1 million gift to its existing Wagstaff & Cartmell Scholarship Fund. The additional funding will continue to support outstanding law students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential and a commitment to advancing the practice of law.
KU Athletics receives historic $300 million gift from longtime donor and alumnus David Booth 
Longtime donor, investing pioneer and KU alumnus provides fuel for Gateway District’s Phase II and ignites next era of excellence across KU Athletics programs in perpetuity