Herschel L. Seder Professorship in Biomedical Engineering

HERSCHEL L. SEDER, A&S ’39, was a trustee of the university for 20 years. During his term as trustee, he served on the advisory committees of the Whiting School of Engineering, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

His most significant contribution to Johns Hopkins University was the pivotal role he played in pioneering the university’s expansion into the field of biomedical engineering and, subsequently, the university’s international leadership in biomedical engineering research and education.

Mr. Seder was chairman and president of the Milwaukee Valve Company. His contributions to the valve industry were many and he was honored with induction into the Professional Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Piping Hall of Fame and with the Lifetime Achievement Award, given by Supply House Times magazine. His company was recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the Midwest Regional Subcontractor of the Year and was cited by the military for its contributions to Operation Desert Storm.

Mr. Seder and his wife, RUTH A. SEDER, were very active in fundraising activities for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and for United Cerebral Palsy, where Mr. Seder served on the board. They were honored nationally in 1983 with the Humanitarian Award from the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. Ruth Seder was active in the Brandeis University Women’s Committee on both the local and national levels. She also was a trustee of the Jewish Woman’s Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, and she was involved with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Art Institute of Chicago. Mrs. Seder passed in 2002, followed by Mr. Seder in 2014. They are survived by four children and nine grandchildren.