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Roger D. McDaniel, BSChE 1962
Inducted in 2000

Roger D. McDaniel, BSChE 1962

Roger Davis McDaniel is a native Lexingtonian and graduate of Lafayette High School. He enrolled at the University of Kentucky where he earned the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1962. As an undergraduate, he was active in the student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and Alpha Chi Sigma professional chemistry fraternity. He later completed the Master of Business Administration from the University of Kentucky in 1966.

Immediately after receiving his engineering degree, Mr. McDaniel accepted employment with the Monsanto Company of St. Louis, Missouri. Throughout the years, he held various positions in engineering, manufacturing, commercial development, marketing, finance/planning and international operations.

In February 1988, he was appointed Vice President of Operations for Monsanto Electronic Materials Company. He remained as Vice President until Monsanto Electronic Materials’ acquisition by Huls AG. He was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Monsanto Electronic Materials at the time the company was formed in April 1989.

Monsanto Electronics Materials Company is the world’s second largest producer of silicon wafers, the fundamental building block in semiconductors. Under his leadership, the company’s annual sales grew from $100 million to more than $1 billion. Monsanto Electonics Materials employed more than 7,500 worldwide at its operations in the United States, Japan, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, and China. Mr. McDaniel guided Monsanto Electronics Materials through its initial public offering in 1995, the second-largest high technology IPO that year. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Huls Corp, Huls America and Monsanto Electronics Materials until his retirement in August 1996.

Mr. McDaniel joined the Board of Directors of Integrated Process Equipment Company (IPEC) in 1996. In August 1997, Mr. McDaniel was persuaded to forgo retirement to accept the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Integrated Process Equipment Corporation. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Integrated Process Equipment Company was a leading manufacturer of chemical-mechanical planarization equipment for the semiconductor industry. In 1997, IPEC reported $144.7 million in revenues and more than 1,000 employees at its operations in Arizona, Oregon, and Connecticut. In April 1999, Integrated Process Equipment Company and SpeedFam International, Inc. merged to form SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. which was subsequently acquired by Novellus Systems, Inc.

Professionally active, Mr. McDaniel was a member of the Board of Directors, and past chairman of SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International), an international industry association of more than 2,300 material and equipment manufacturers. He served on the U.S. Korean Committee on Business Cooperation, sponsored by the United States Department of Commerce and the Korean Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for VEECO Instruments, Inc., and Entegris Inc. He and his wife also breed and race thoroughbred horses.

With a strong belief in community service, Mr. McDaniel was a member of the Advisory Board of the St. Louis University Institute of International Business, and a past board member for the United Way of Santa Clara, California and the Greely Community Center, St. Louis, Missouri. Among his many awards and honors, is his 1997 induction into the University of Kentucky Carol Martin Gatton College of Business Economics Hall of Fame.

Mr. McDaniel resides in Nicholasville, Kentucky and has three sons. His wife, Beth, passed away in 2011.