Gene Gowins, who studied physics at Missouri S&T in the early 1960s, has established a $2.1 million permanent endowment to help physics students succeed, a gift he says was inspired by both the values he learned growing up during the Great Depression and his passion for physics.

“I love physics,” he says. “To me, physics is man’s effort to create a mathematic model that identifies some of nature’s secrets.”

Gowins earned two master’s degrees in physics at Missouri S&T, one specifically for teachers. His thesis was on the piezoelectric properties of thallium nitrate.

He says it was the encouragement of two S&T professors that moved him to give back.

Dr. Harold Q. Fuller was a physics professor who served as department chair from 1948 to 1970, when he became founding dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He was also on the board of education in Rolla, and helped Gowins obtain a teaching position, which made it possible for him to pursue his studies.

Dr. Franklin Pauls breathed life into the subject as the primary teacher of Physics I. He also became the first director of Missouri S&T’s nuclear reactor, the first operational nuclear reactor in the state of Missouri.

“I’ll never have the kind of impact they had on me, but I’m pleased to be able to make it possible for students to worry less about expenses and focus more on physics,” Gowins says.

As a Boeing employee, Gowins worked on the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) program and simulations for the Saturn V rocket. Following his time with Boeing, Gowins worked on advanced sensors, specifically laser and infrared-guided missiles, with the U.S. Army Missile Command.

Post-retirement, Gowins is careful with his investments and sees his good fortune in the market as a signal that it’s time, in his words, to pay it back.

“I want to invest where I think it will do the most good,” he says. “For me, supporting Missouri S&T is a win-win for the students, the university and our country.”

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to The Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.