Wolfs Family Scholarship
This scholarship honors four engineers: Karl Wolfs, his daughter, Denise Wolfs, Karl’s brother John Wolfs, and John’s daughter Lorraine Wolfs Minderman.
Karl E. Wolfs graduated from Case Institute of Technology in Ohio with a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1943, and then served 6 years in the US Navy. While serving as the electronics officer on the USS Fall River, he spent time in Japan and China, and witnessed the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll. After resigning his commission, he spent 38 years working for Burns & McDonnell at offices in Cleveland, OH and Kansas City, MO. Karl specialized in power plant design and construction, spending 30 years as a project manager and seeing 12 power generating units completed. Karl was Professional Engineer and a lifetime member of ASME, ASHRAE, NSPE, MSPE, and Tau Beta Pi. He also served as the President of the Kansas City chapter of ASHRAE.
Denise Y. Wolfs obtained a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Kansas in 1974, where she led the effort to establish a SWE chapter. Denise worked 12 years for Exxon Corporation in various engineering positions in New Jersey and Texas. While working as an engineer, she attended law school at night, becoming a patent agent in 1986 and obtaining a law degree in 1987. Denise worked for Shell Oil Company and later Exxon Mobil Corporation as an attorney specializing in intellectual property, and retired from Exxon Mobil in 2011 with almost 28 years of service. Denise was a Professional Engineer and a SWE member for 14 years, serving as President of the Houston Area Section and Section Representative. Denise was recognized as a SWE Distinguished New Engineer in 1982.
John R. Wolfs graduated from Western Reserve University in Ohio with a Chemistry degree in 1939. After working several years, he served 2 years in the US Army, and then obtained a Civil Engineering degree from Case Institute of Technology in 1949. John served in many engineering capacities for the City of Cleveland, eventually becoming Commissioner of Engineering and Construction. He later served as Chief Engineer for the Cleveland Port Authority and Resident Engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers in Niagara Falls, NY and Cleveland, OH. John co-authored a book, Bridges of Metropolitan Cleveland in 1981. He was a Professional Engineer and served as President of the Cleveland Society of Civil Engineers and the Ohio Council of the American Society of Professional Engineers.
Lorraine W. Minderman obtained a Civil Engineering degree from The Ohio State University in 1977, where she was a student member of SWE. She worked 5 years as an engineer and project manager for The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. and later the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. She left engineering in 1982 to raise two children. In 2002, Lorraine obtained an Associate Degree of Applied Science in Optical Technology and began working as a Licensed Dispensing Optician. She retired in 2016.
This scholarship was endowed by Denise Wolfs in 2018.
Number Available: 1
Class: Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate
Major: AeroE, ArchE, AutoE, ChE, CE, CprE, EE, EnvE, IE, MfgE, MSE, ME, PE
Amount: $1250
Renewable: 5 years
U.S. citizenship required, SWE Collegiate membership required. Renewable for 5 years. Home address in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas or Wisconsin.
