By Jessie Ying

“Wayne has gone above and beyond to help our organization develop a strategic path forward with tangible objectives,” wrote Beth Leven, Director of Academic Affairs at the Fung Institute.Since 2016, Delker has been directing the Capstone experience, a nine-month experience in which students have the opportunity to work on hands-on projects of their choice. Over the past two years, Delker has adopted many new models of running these Capstone projects. It was his vision to have industry professionals coach project teams, for instance. Now companies in fields ranging from automotive to insurance are leading exciting projects that give students even more exposure to the real world.
Enhancing the Capstone Experience
Going forward Delker hopes to improve the quality of every Capstone project.
“We want to be a part of our graduates’ success throughout their entire career,” Delker said.
The Future of Engineering Leadership
As the programs at the institute continue to grow, Delker is currently looking for more space to accommodate students, faculty and staff. With students coming from 32 countries, the cohort this year is highly diverse. Delker believes such diversity is very important. “Innovation is dramatically improved with diverse teams,” he said. “I’d like our institute to tap into that wealth of diversity, not only in our work here, but also teaching our students how to deal with diversity in an empowering way.”
“Our institute is creating leaders for that future. We have a responsibility to help our leaders pick the right path and avoid the negative path,” he said.Wayne is responsible for the overall Fung Institute leadership experience. He spent most of his career in business, with 15 years at Clorox as Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Vice President of R&D. Prior to that he worked with GE in several R&D and Engineering roles, culminating as General Manager and Director of R&D for the GE Silicones business. His experience in driving innovation and leading large R&D organizations provides a unique perspective that is valuable to students, faculty and staff as we help students become leaders. He also teaches Leadership and Teamwork classes in the Institute and coaches student teams. His academic interests include how leadership and decision making will change in the future. He holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Columbia University. He enjoys cycling, gardening and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren.
Wayne Delker named Executive Director of the Fung Institute was originally published in Berkeley Master of Engineering on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.