Benjamin Hornburg

Ben Hornburg is the facilities manager and program operations specialist for the Chemical Engineering department at UW. Officially, this entails maintaining and managing the facilities in Benson Hall. He ensures everything in the building is kept up to the highest standards of safety, which is incredibly important for chemical engineers.

Ben works in the machine shop in the basement, but is almost always running around helping someone in the department. He consistently goes above and beyond for the department. The majority of graduate students in the department ask Ben for assistance with lab setups and safety issues. He has also been essential in many of the undergraduate lab courses, including Unit Operations I and II and Process Control, helping to fix weekly lab mishaps and improve lab equipment for future use. Ben also goes beyond his official duties to help students with outreach, extracurriculars, and accessibility.

As said by teaching professor Dr. Alex Prubutok, “Ben and I started at around the same time in Fall of 2022, and in only that short time it has become clear to me and other faculty that Ben is the literal backbone of the Chemical Engineering department. Without him, our research and teaching endeavors would not stand.”

In addition to faculty, students and staff would all say the same thing. Ben is the foundation of the Chemical Engineering department’s success. I am nominating Ben for this award because his enormous impact on our department has made everyone who enters Benson Hall feel safe, included, and respected.

Tell us why you are nominating this individual

When asked who deserves the Distinguished Staff Award, the only answer received from the Chemical Engineering graduate students was Ben. We strongly believe that without him, our department would crumble. Ben is everyone’s go-to person for problem solving in the department. He approaches problems with compassion, patience, and understanding, and goes above and beyond to come up with multiple creative solutions.

From a graduate student perspective, Ben has been extremely impactful in ensuring lab spaces run smoothly and safely. In one instance, Ben assisted a new research group with installing a tube furnace enclosure in their lab in another building, “We had very specific needs that Ben paid careful attention to. He spent weeks milling perfect features into acrylic panels for this project and gave an enormous amount of advice when it came time for assembly. Our research simply would not be where it is today without Ben’s tireless commitment.”

His assistance has been crucial to scaling up processes when fabrications are needed, “Whenever I’m stuck on something mechanical, I run it by Ben. Without fail, he has a great solution and helps me implement it. Ben’s suggestions have helped streamline fabrication processes for a key piece of equipment in our lab, which helps us reliably scale our research.”

He helped one student to such a large extent, that he is now a co-author on her research publication. Additionally, Ben always takes safety into account when helping students, “Ben has played a crucial role in safety checks, particularly in creating the safest environment for gas line setups and other potentially hazardous configurations. His attention to detail and proactive approach in addressing safety concerns have given us the confidence to move forward with our work, knowing that all precautions are in place.”

Outside of research-related jobs, Ben has helped out with outreach and extracurriculars in the department, something completely out of his job description. During UW’s Engineering Discovery Days, Ben assisted one of our lab’s demos, “Walk on Water”. For this, he built and operated a cement mixer to mix over 500 pounds of cornstarch with water, built and improved a “pool” for visiting students to safely participate in the demo, and proposed improvements for future years.

Another time, during the graduate student welcome BBQ for new students, the grill used to make the food collapsed right before the event. Ben, without question, came and fixed it in less than an hour, making it even more safe and stable than it was before it broke.

If it weren’t for Ben, neither of these events would have been able to happen. Many more things could be said about Ben, but in all, his presence and willingness to help has positively impacted every single person that has entered Benson Hall.

What makes this nominee worthy of the DSA?

Ben has been essential to the success of the Chemical Engineering department, including its students, faculty, and staff. He has provided the majority of graduate students with lab assistance, most going to him for help multiple times. When providing project assistance, Ben upholds high safety standards, which can also be seen with how he maintains Benson Hall itself.

When asked about Ben, most responses include a testimony saying the project would not have been possible without him. Also, Ben interacts with undergraduate students in their lab courses, and makes an effort to turn mistakes and broken equipment into learning opportunities, “Once, when a pump was leaking in the Unit Operations lab, he took it apart to seal the leak, and while it was open he explained the inner workings of the pump to the students in the lab, who got a valuable learning experience that even I as their instructor could not have provided.”

Ben helps members of our department feel welcome and included. In addition to assisting in labs and maintaining the building, Ben has taken students’ accessibility concerns into account. When working with an undergraduate student, he noticed her work being impacted by a hand dexterity issue. To counteract this, he made special tools to help her hold tweezers, as well as replaced door handles with easier-to-hold handles and rebuilt desk and lab furniture to be more ergonomic. Ben has noted an interest in continuing work in the accessibility space, and has already proven to be beneficial in this area in our department.

Beyond UW Chemical Engineering, Ben has also contributed to the larger community by participating and assisting with outreach events serving the greater Seattle community. UW’s Engineering Discovery Days, in which Ben played an essential role in one of the most popular booths, was attended by thousands of elementary and middle school students. With this, Ben’s impact is, in fact, “boundless”.

Was there anything else?

Ben is a very busy person, as he tirelessly works to help as many people as he can in a timely fashion. But during all of this, he always takes the time to get to know the students and participate in department activities and events. I can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t say talking to Ben is a pleasure, as we always enjoy hearing about what new thing he is trying to learn or improve in the department or in his free time, especially robot fighting.

Additionally, Ben is often the only staff member to participate in student groups’ events, including the department kickball tournament and the Women in Chemical Engineering 5k. During 2023’s department holiday party, Ben brought his own setup to allow all attendees to make s’mores on the patio.

Beyond being essential to the department’s functionality, Ben has been an impactful, positive spirit to the Chemical Engineering community.

Joelle Scott
PhD Student
Chemical Engineering