A Commercial Catalyst

On a summer day in Ann Arbor, Michigan, two young teenage boys stood up to their knees in pond water, intently studying its depths. Excitement flickered in one of the boys’ eyes as he spotted movement, and he quickly lowered a jar to scoop up several tadpoles with legs. He surveyed his prize, thinking of the basement-based experiments and creations they would fund when he sold them to a local scientific company. Where some would see only tiny, wriggling creatures, he saw opportunity.

This entrepreneurial vision for scientific and commercial opportunity would become a defining characteristic for Dr. Jan Troup ’74. It led him to Texas A&M University, where he studied for his doctorate under the foremost inorganic chemist of his time. It helped him launch his first business that pioneered a new field, and it sustained him throughout a career of innovation.

Now, this lens of opportunity is inspiring Troup’s planned gift to support the College of Science’s future and extend his innovative legacy into tomorrow.

Learning From the Best

Troup’s early scientific pursuits led him to earn a bachelor’s in chemistry from Eastern Michigan University and seek out some of the greatest chemistry minds for his graduate work. At Ohio University, he earned his master’s in inorganic chemistry under Dr. Abraham Clearfield, who later taught at Texas A&M for more than 40 years.

Pioneering an Industry

While Troup was working with X-ray diffraction, the method gained promise as a new drug development tool. Previously, the process was only available to university researchers, but as it became more efficient, Troup recognized the method’s commercial potential. “It’s like having a microscope at the atomic level,” he explained. “You get the structure of an enzyme, and then you input the drug you’re developing to see how it works on the actual biological molecule. So, you’re using the structure to continually improve the drug.”
 

Now, Troup is expanding his innovative legacy through a gift in his estate that will create future chairs in inorganic chemistry and analytical and physical chemistry. His planned gift will also foster the next generation of innovators through an endowed fund providing commercialization support for chemistry graduate students.

“The fund was inspired by the way Cotton helped jumpstart my career,” Troup explained. “It’s an important component because scientists often develop ideas but lack the funds to commercialize them and attract an outside buyer. Texas A&M is on the right innovative path, and I hope my gift will inspire students who want to be successful in this area. That would be a fantastic legacy.”

As he continues to pursue scientific and commercial potential, Troup’s generosity will be a catalyst for generations of new ideas from future Aggies who, like him, pursue innovation no matter what form it takes. “Your degree may be in organometallic chemistry,” he said, “but there’s nothing wrong with developing ideas in physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, or medical areas and making history.”

Interested in supporting the next generation of innovators through a planned gift? Contact Angela Throne ’03 at the bottom of this page.