Hal Jurist, Longtime Supporter of WPI, Awarded Honorary Degree

Through his philanthropic leadership, Harold L. Jurist ’61 aspires to have a positive impact on some of the world’s greatest challenges.

After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, Hal embarked on a long and impressive career with IBM. He was one of the first engineers in the company’s components division and held management positions in several of its semiconductor laboratories before becoming development manager in a new business unit that would eventually become IBM’s PC division. Hal also lived in Tokyo, managing IBM’s telecommunication products for the Asia-Pacific region. He spent two years in the service (having been in the ROTC program at WPI) at Philadelphia Air Defense. He later took a position overseas with a large electronics firm, where he served as senior vice president, chief operating officer, and director, and concluded his career involved in several entrepreneurial endeavors and as a land developer in Florida.

 

With their philanthropy, Hal and his wife, Heather, seek to make the world better for future generations. At WPI, they established the Harold L. Jurist ’61 and Heather E. Jurist Dean’s Professorships to support faculty who are pursuing cutting-edge research in one of WPI’s multidisciplinary concentrations focused on AI, robotics, decision-making and autonomous robots, cybersecurity systems, biomedical devices and image analysis, climate change, sustainable fuels and energy, environmental science and adaption, and other disciplines aligned with these areas.

Through their philanthropy, the Jurists also hope to inspire others and help researchers generate support from other funding sources.

Hal credits his WPI education with his career success. His generous support of his alma mater will continue to advance important innovations that will affect generations to come. In recognition of his transformative impact on the university, as a philanthropic leader and role model for the alumni community, WPI is pleased to confer on Harold L. Jurist, Class of 1961, the degree of Doctor of Engineering, Honoris Causa.