Joe Herkamp

Eli Lilly & Co.
Class of 1974

Technology has changed by leaps and bounds since Joe Herkamp completed his degree in mechanical engineering at Valparaiso University in 1974. It hasn't fazed him a bit. His experiences in the College of Engineering prepared him for such changes.

“Valpo's mandate remains the same: to prepare students for jobs that do not yet exist,” Herkamp says.

An associate engineering consultant at Eli Lilly& Company in Indianapolis, Herkamp received the company's Engineering Excellence Award earlier this year (2006). The prestigious honor is given each year to an engineer at Eli Lilly who has demonstrated a long-term, high level of technical performance and innovation, and has had a significant impact on the engineering profession and the success of the company.

Herkamp, who has been with Eli Lilly for 31 years, is the second VU alumnus to win the award, joining 1999 winner John R. Krenzke, a 1981 mechanical engineering graduate.

At Eli Lilly, Herkamp leads a team in integrating process data with a new business system the company currently is installing. He credits the preparation he received at Valpo for helping him achieve success in his career.

“At Valpo, I learned from teachers with a wealth of real-world experience in the engineering profession. In particular, Dr. Les Zoss worked at Lilly as a consultant while I was a student and continued in that capacity for more than 20 years after I joined the company.”

The award isn't the first for Herkamp. In 1995, he was named Control Engineer of the Year by CONTROL magazine.

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