She said...
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He said...
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Beth (Jordon) Hancock
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Larry Hancock
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B.S. Polymer Science and Engineering 1984 and M.S. Polymer Science and Engineering 1986
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B.S. Polymer Science and Engineering 1983, and Ph.D. Polymer Science and Engineering 1988
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Current job:
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Division Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager at Parker Hannifin, Industrial Filtration and Gas Generation Division - responsible for supporting all quality systems and continuous improvement projects for five business units in three states. Pretty much in a different state each week, primarily commuting between Boston and Buffalo, New York, and occasionally going to Slater, Missouri.
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CEO and Founder, Akita Innovations LLC - contract research and development of novel materials for commercial and government customers.
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How we met...
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…I was an overzealous junior and Larry was a coasting senior, when we were randomly placed as lab partners in a polymer science lab in the spring of 1983. He was very smart and knew all the answers, I was trying to understand and figure things out, so we did not get along very well. The next fall, he was a first-year grad student, and I was a senior, a mutual friend set us up at the Gaff (The Shandygaff). After getting over our initial surprise, we bonded over dancing to the oldies. We have been together ever since that not-so blind date.
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…formally as lab partners, informally at the Gaff.
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The advantages to being married to another alumnus is…
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…that there is no competition since we root for the same school. It is nice to be able to volunteer and give back to the same program, share many old friends.
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…simplifies the wardrobe for football weekends.
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When I think about my time at Penn State, my fondest memory is…
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…getting married there, of course. Also going to Cafe 210 West for happy hour and then to the Golden Wok for dinner with our group of grad student friends and professors.
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…the correct answer should be our wedding day, but the real answer is Penn State beating Nebraska in September 1982 with a last-minute pass from Todd Blackledge to Kirk Bowman (sorry Beth).
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What I enjoy most about my work is…
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…tackling problems, improving our systems and process, seeing the pride and sense of accomplishment as teams truly solve complex issues.
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…independence and flexibility and being able to solve tough problems with chemistry.
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The thing I admire most about my spouse is…
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…he has put up with me for over 30 years and he is a great father to our 2 children, Morgan and Seth.
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…she puts up with me.
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You might be surprised to know that my spouse…
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…he has an amazing memory for sports trivia and stats, especially Penn State football.
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…puts up with me.
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My all-time favorite restaurant in State College is…
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…The Corner Room, we used to splurge as poor graduate students and go to lunch there to get the winter soup and crusty bread. Vesuvio's Pizza was a close second, they had the best hoagies.
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…lamb hunan at the Golden Wok (R.I.P.).
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My words of wisdom to current students is that…
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…we both paid our own way thru college and came out with high debt, but we would not change a thing. We have been much more successful with a degree than we ever would have been without it. Remember to share your time, talent and treasure with Penn State.
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…get in front of people, introduce yourself in person, don't rely on e-mail and texts. I never would have done my post-doc at MIT if I had not introduced myself to Mark Wrighton at an ACS (American Chemical Society) meeting and boldly told him I wanted to work for him.
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