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Bob Hamlen ’51 has spent his life researching and developing portable power sources. After 45 years of dedicated work, 20 hard-earned patents, dozens of trips abroad, and thousands of productive international committee hours, he has earned a reputation as a leader in the industry.

Hamlen’s contributions earned him the Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Medal when he retired in 2004. More recently, at an International Power Sources Symposium in Brighton, England, Hamlen was awarded the Frank Booth Medal and was invited to be the keynote speaker there. He was also named last year to the Board of Directors of Electro Energy Inc., a leading provider of advanced battery technologies and associated systems. These honors cap a career of similar outstanding achievements in several corporate and board positions, as well as in the military.

“I worked at General Electric, Exxon and ALCAN,” he explains. “But I am most proud of my 13 years as the chief of Army Power Division. I feel good about making an impact on all the different army bases with which I worked.”

Those base visits also satisfied Hamlen’s love of travel. And his career saw other instances where his scientific work and wanderlust could be combined.

“During the five years that I served as chairman of the NATO Power Management Treaty Committee, I traveled heavily between the participating countries,” he says. “We all had an interest in developing standardized batteries and power connections. I organized many of the meetings and succeeded in putting people in place to coordinate the activities of related industries in the various countries.”

Hamlen’s family continues to nurture his desire to travel. His five children and seven grandchildren are spread from New York to Singapore.

Three generations of the Hamlen family have chosen to attend Lafayette. Hamlen’s father grew up in Phillipsburg and his ties to the local area, as well as the quality of education, led Bob to follow him there. Hamlen has a daughter, Michelle Hamlen Kline ’85. He accompanied her to the campus often and began to gradually reconnect with many of his college friends. The group started a tradition and now meets annually at the Young Republican Club.

A chemistry graduate, Hamlen has been interested in gadgets and science since his childhood. Professor Mark Kline inspired him.

“He had a particular enthusiasm and interest in the topic that rubbed off on me,” he says.

Hamlin channeled this interest into the field of electro chemistry and ever since has been developing batteries and power components for everything from new items undergoing product research, to torpedo batteries, to military fuel cells, to science kits and much more. Even in retirement this passion continues to drive his days.

“I consult for four or five companies that are related to the military. They each provide things the military needs,” he says.

Categorized in: Alumni Profiles