UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A $1.5 million gift from Penn State alumnus and volunteer leader Richard A. Gottscho is launching a new initiative to support Penn State startups and enhance research commercialization across the University. Gottscho is a member of the Campaign Leadership Council charged with guiding the institution’s current fundraising effort, and his gift underscores the importance of research support in the campaign.
The newly established philanthropic fund named in honor of Gottscho will provide early-stage investment capital and infrastructure to help bring Penn State innovations to market. The fund is designed to strengthen the pipeline of startup companies emerging from the University’s research enterprise and to connect those ventures with accredited investors from the Penn State community, including alumni, faculty, staff, parents and students.
“This gift creates a new pathway for Penn State entrepreneurs to access the resources and support needed to move discoveries out of the lab and into the world,” said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. “I am very grateful for Dr. Gottscho’s vision to provide a spend-down gift to catalyze innovation and economic growth both within the University and beyond.”
The fund will be used to launch a formal Angel Network, called Nittany Angels, at Penn State and provide initial seed stage capital — a pool of money the University can use to invest alongside members of the network in promising startups. The initiative will prioritize companies based on Penn State research and use common early-stage investment tools, like agreements that give investors a chance to receive company shares in the future if the business grows and succeeds.
“This investment will expand access to early-stage capital and create a community of mission-aligned investors who are passionate about supporting Penn State innovations,” said James Delattre, associate vice president for research and director of the Office of Entrepreneurship and Commercialization.
The Nittany Angels and associated early-stage fund aim to strengthen Penn State’s research commercialization ecosystem by supporting technologies through multiple stages of development and growth. The initiative also includes funding for staff to oversee operations during its early years and support programmatic expenses related to commercialization.
“As a Penn State alumnus and someone who spent a career driving innovation, I know how critical early support can be to bringing research to life,” Gottscho said. “This fund is about giving Penn State entrepreneurs the chance to turn bold ideas into real-world impact. I’m proud to give back to a university that gave me my start.”
Gottscho earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Penn State in 1974 and a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He recently retired as executive vice president and chief technology officer at Lam Research, a Fortune 500 company in the semiconductor industry. Over his 29-year career at Lam, he held a variety of senior leadership roles, including executive vice president of the global products group and general manager of the Etch Businesses. Prior to joining Lam in 1996, he spent 15 years at Bell Laboratories, where he led research departments focused on electronic materials, packaging and flat-panel displays.
An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, Gottscho is internationally recognized for his technical achievements in plasma science and semiconductor manufacturing. He is a fellow of both the American Physical Society and the American Vacuum Society and has received numerous awards, including the AVS Peter Mark Memorial Award, the Plasma Science and Technology Division Prize, the Dry Process Symposium Nishizawa Award and the Tegal Thinker Award. He has authored more than 100 publications and patents, served on editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals and participated in multiple national science advisory committees.
In 2024, Gottscho was honored with the Penn State Alumni Association’s Alumni Fellow Award, the most prestigious honor given by the association.
For more information about the Dr. Richard A. Gottscho Penn State Angel Network and Innovation Fund, contact James Delattre at jld141@psu.edu. For more information about philanthropic support of research commercialization at Penn State, contact Heather Winfield at hbw11@psu.edu.
Investment in research and innovation advances the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.