the Rod & Linda Gross Endowment

The Rod and Linda Gross Endowment was established in March 2011 to provide support to engineering students at The University of Akron, with special consideration given to students working toward careers in electrical engineering and/or computer engineering.

Funds from The Rod and Linda Gross Endowment will be used to benefit engineering students, as well as, but not limited to, new laboratory equipment, grants supporting class projects, and stipends for students conducting engineering-related research, at the discretion of the department.

Rod Gross grew up in North Canton, Ohio, and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The University of Akron in 1976. He participated in the cooperative education program and worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., as part of his education.

After graduating from The University of Akron, Rod’s first full-time engineering job was with Motorola in Schaumburg, Il., where he met his wife, Linda. Rod and Linda moved to California’s Silicon Valley after they married in 1978. Rod was involved in several high-technology startup companies that addressed various challenges of building the Internet until his retirement in April 1999. Rod and Linda now live in Auburn, Calif.

“The University of Akron gave me a solid technical foundation upon which to establish a successful career in a very competitive and rapidly evolving technology field. The heavy emphasis of laboratory courses in the curriculum afforded me extensive practical experience as part of my education, which built my confidence to tackle difficult new technical problems with creativity. It is my hope that this endowment will help students at The University of Akron build a high level of confidence in solving future technical problems.” – Rod Gross