Dear HYPER-Blog reader,
Although many in life made us who we are today, there are an indelible few who live on, in our heads, just the way we remember them. It’s these few whose advice you recall as if it were yesterday — because sometimes that’s how often you need to hear it. Richard T Jacobsen was one of those rare individuals who could root their advice alongside enough laughter to last a lifetime. Jacobsen received his PhD from WSU in 1972 while an assistant professor at the University of Idaho (UI). He thrived on the Palouse for several decades; eventually becoming Dean of Engineering at the UI from 1990-1999. Many of his descendants still call the Palouse home.
Jacobsen started my cryogenic hydrogen journey nearly 20 years ago with the phrase that still rings true “I have never had a job I didn’t like.” One of his earliest lessons was the significance of the servant-leadership mindset behind Land-Grant Universities. The idea of a place, for anyone willing to work hard, that enabled competition with the best in the world. This ideal eventually became the hydrogen equations of state and the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Center; rooted in a Land-Grant institution on the Palouse. One of Jacobsen’s final lessons was staying connected through careers. Even though I pursued a PhD at Wisconsin, Jacobsen served on my dissertation committee and helped me begin my career at WSU.
Helping HYPER alumni on their journeys is one way I continue Jacobsen’s legacy. Many alumni will remember often repeated phrases original to him: “Coulder, Bolorado.” “That infernal, I mean internal, energy.” and “Don’t grade it. Fix it.” Some experts in the field will remember Jacobsen’s pioneering development of the equations of state for air mixtures used for the design of everything from aircraft to cheese slicers. Not just my own, but our world would be very different without Jacobsen’s influence. That’s why I did my best to support the Richard T Jacobsen undergraduate scholarship at the UI. Now I’m asking the same of all HYPER alumni and friends. Jacobsen’s widow, Bonnie, has created the Richard T Jacobsen Graduate Student Fellowship in the HYPER Center at WSU. Paired with HYPER’s new heavy-duty hydrogen refueling station of the future, we can ensure HYPER continues to recruit and retain the very best graduates trained to work with cold hydrogen anywhere. In Jacobsen’s words, “That’ll be the best we can do.”
All the best,
Jake