When Juan Ernesto de Bedout (IE’67, MS IE’68, HDR E’13) graduated from Purdue and returned to Colombia to start his career in industrial engineering, he knew he wanted to remain involved with the university in any way possible. So, he purchased a lifetime membership in the Purdue Alumni Association.
Little did he know that this connection would span generations, uniting his family with Purdue for decades.
As esteemed engineering alumni, Juan Ernesto, his son Juan Manuel de Bedout (ME’94, MS ME’96, PhD ME’00), and nephew Juan Diego Velazquez de Bedout (IE’98, MS IE’03, PhD IE’09) have created a family legacy of supporting areas that made the greatest impact on their lives.
“I’m fortunate to have received so much from Purdue over the years that I think it’s my turn to do my part and give back,” Juan Ernesto says. He has served on such committees as the College of Engineering Advisory Council and the Industrial Engineering Advisory Council. He has also received numerous engineering awards, including an honorary doctorate in 2013, and was selected as an Old Master in 2014.
Juan Ernesto and Juan Manuel also share the honor of being named Distinguished Engineering Alumni—Juan Ernesto in 2000, and Juan Manuel in 2021.
“To share that with my father means a lot to me,” Juan Manuel says. “It’s a very prestigious group of people, so we take that with a lot of humility.”
On top of his service to Purdue, Juan Ernesto has supported the university through giving. He’s helped establish endowments in honor of his mother, Berta Molina de Bedout—which includes a piazza near Grissom Hall—and for his father-in-law, Larry Cargnino, who was a professor in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics for 39 years.
Juan Ernesto also supports the Colombia Purdue Partnership, which is led by Juan Diego. The partnership creates opportunities for Boilermakers and their Colombian peers to study and conduct research in each other’s countries, fostering an exchange
of ideas and cultures.
The connection between the de Bedout family and Purdue is a strong one too, as Juan Manuel and Juan Diego have both followed in Juan Ernesto’s philanthropic footsteps.
Says Juan Ernesto: “I just want to touch as many lives as I can, since so many people touched mine—and I think that was contagious with Juan Diego and Juan Manuel. We can only encourage others to think similarly.”
At Purdue, Juan Diego is the director of the Office of Global Partnerships, which aims to increase the impact of Purdue’s global partnerships with institutions, governments, foundations, and companies around the world.
Juan Manuel, the chief technology officer at RTX, has been a member of the Mechanical Engineering Advisory Council since 2014 and has supported both the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
“All of us learned from Juan Ernesto and his ethos of supporting the communities he has been with,” says Juan Diego. “It’s just who he is.”
—Keagan Slocum
