Alum Darrell Velegol gives Anderson Lecture

Studying chemical engineering left Darrell Velegol ('97) with the feeling that it had all been figured out. "After school, life showed me over time that we don't live in such a deterministic world," he says.

As a faculty member at Penn State University, Velegol began to consider how chemical engineers could create value for people amidst uncertainty in project outcomes. He heard from former students and connections in industry who were dissatisfied with the direction of their chemical companies.

Velegol hypothesized that their companies were not placing their bets well on innovation. After two decades of research in colloidal systems, he made a sharp turn to study innovation processes and budgeting. He now studies how to allocate a portfolio of resources over time in a probabilistic world.

Velegol, Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering at Penn State, discussed "Gambling on innovation" as the featured speaker for Carnegie Mellon's 5th John L. Anderson Distinguished Lecture in Chemical Engineering on October 28, 2025.

The lecture series is named to honor the accomplishments of former Carnegie Mellon University professor of chemical engineering and dean of the College of Engineering, John L. Anderson. Anderson, president emeritus of the National Academy of Engineering, has made an impressive impact on the field of engineering, both through his research and his many roles in academic leadership around the country.

Velegol was advised by Anderson, along with Stephen Garoff, as a Ph.D. student in chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon. For their work with colloidal forces and transport, Velegol won the 1998 Victor K. LaMer Award for Graduate Research in Colloid and Surface Chemistry. The award recognizes the outstanding Ph.D. dissertation in the field.

Anderson's influence as a mentor extended to other fields, as well. "He was always pointing outwards to the expertise around him," says Velegol, who has carried that attitude with him throughout his career.

Velegol credits Anderson and the research environment at CMU with expanding his perspective. "I don't see chemical engineering just as molecules and temperatures and pressures and concentrations. It has that, of course, but I now see it also in terms of a global culture, involving finance, people, and decision-making," he says.

As an educator watching the rise of artificial intelligence, Velegol predicts that college experiences will come to be more valuable than individual classes. He encourages educators to expand their scope and bring collaborative experiences into their classrooms, connecting students to experts across domains both at and beyond their university, from venture capital, to supply chain, to legal and regulatory.

"I want my students to be able to imagine great dreams, pursue great disciplines, and win great victories," says Velegol. "It isn't enough to show them only how to solve problems or only how to dream about new problems. They need both."

Speaking to CMU students, faculty, and alums, Velegol closed his lecture by recounting an exchange from his own days as a Ph.D. student. Feeling humble as he neared the end of his program, Velegol remembers telling Anderson that he had given up on the idea that his dissertation was going to change the world. "John whipped off his glasses, looked straight at me, and said, 'Darrell, never stop trying to change the world!'"