Established in 2012 by a group of donors to honor Erich Farber and support undergraduate or graduate students who have an interest in any alternative energy research such as solar, wind, ocean thermal, tides, etc.

Erich was born in Austria and came to the U.S. in 1939. While attending the University of Missouri, Farber applied for U.S. citizenship which he received after being drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. For his dedicated service with General George S. Patton’s 3rd Army, he was awarded a battlefield commission, the Silver Star and Purple Hearts, among other decorations.

While teaching at the University of Missouri, Farber developed the “Boiling Curve,” which is quoted in all books on heat transfer, and developed a method of heat transfer referred to in literature as “farberizing.”

He joined the mechanical engineering staff at the University of Florida in 1954. While at UF he garnered an international reputation for establishing the Solar Energy and Energy Conversion Laboratory. It was his work at UF that would later earn him such titles as Sunshine Superman and Solar Energy Pioneer.

Upon his retirement in 1990 Erich was named Distinguished Service Professor Emeritu