Sheridan Vo '06

Dear Dr. Pang,

You made my second quarter in ChE interesting with hands-on projects and intriguing lectures.  Your encouragement brought me hope and confidence that I could finish the program so I decided to stay with this major.  Then a couple of years later, I had TK and I thought I made a big mistake.  But because of your teaching and wisdoms, you taught me to be determined and that obstacles can be conquered.  I am glad that I stayed with this major and graduated.  All of us were very fortunate to have you as a professor because you have always encouraged us to do better, inspired us with your integrity, and motivated us with your own experience and words of wisdom.  It was truly an honor to have you as a professor.

Sheridan Vo
Class of 2006

Lilis Chandra '08

Dear Dr.Pang,

No words can describe my appreciation to you for all the help you had given me when I was in school. Not only you helped me in my school work whenever I had questions, but you also gave me the motivation to work harder when I was about to give up. I really enjoyed all your classes, and the education I received from you had prepared me well in going to the real engineering world.

I really want to thank you for taking the time to review my resume, and forward it to my current employer, Technip, where I have been working since graduation in 2008. I really enjoy working here and I know that I owe all of these to you. Your help, advice and encouragement meant a lot to me.  You are truly the best professor I have ever had.

From all the stories you had told us, I know that not only you are a great professor, but you are also a great husband, father and grandfather. So, I want to wish you all the best in your retirement and have a good time with your family. You deserve it!

Also, I am sorry that I am not able to attend the dinner, so whenever you are available, we should meet up for lunch or dinner at one of your recommended restaurants.

Best Regards,

Lilis Chandra 

Chris Shea

Dear Dr. Pang,

It is difficult to express in words my sincere gratitude to you for your dedication to education and commitment to mentoring me.  You far exceeded all my expectations of a professor and for that, I want to thank you.  Five years after graduation, I continue to be motivated and encouraged by your classes and my interactions with you.  I also want to thank you for helping me with my job search upon graduation.  I have been with WorleyParsons since then and have enjoyed working in my career.  I am working on upstream Alaska projects and have been learning so much daily.

My best wishes to you in your retirement!

Best regards,

Chris Shea

Stan Che, colleague at KTI in the 1990's

Dear Frances,
I worked with Hing in the early 1990's when he joined KTI from CF Braun.  We were both working in the R&D area, but on different assignments.  He was always helpful to me.  After he left KTI, we stayed in touch through the years.
Hing even coached me how to finance children's college tuition.  At that time, Hing had 3 in Ivy league schools.  You must be one of them.  My son was in MIT and a second one was ready for college.  Hing was very gracious to show me the "Hows".  I always remember it.  What a great friend!
When he was teaching senior design class at CalPoly, we always want his top students to join KTI/Technip.  We have picked up many good CalPoly graduates through his help.  Thanks!
Stan Che

Carlos E. Solorzano, PhD, ChemE '05

Dr. Pang was the best Professor that I had at CalPoly Pomona. He is smart, patient, and above all, has an amazing ability to translate concepts and equations that are very complicated, into simple, 'common sense' ideas that everyone can understand. The education that I received at Cal Poly Pomona is superb and prepared me to do, not just chemical engineering, but actually provided a foundation for me to pursue a career, which is somewhat distant for Chemical Engineers - that is, research in the Medical Sciences. A great part of this preparation came directly from Dr. Pang and for this I am very thankful. Dr. Pang, I want to wish you an awesome retirement, which you very much deserve for your commitment and dedication to educating young people.
 
Wishing you the best,

Carlos E. Solorzano, PhD
ChemE Alum 2005

Ashraf Nabhani '98

Frances,

Here are few thoughts that you may capture.

I'm a Cal Poly Alum class 1998. I had Dr. Pang in several classes for my chemical engineering B.S. degree. Of any of the classes that I took throughput my five years at CPP, Dr. Pang's classes were the most memorable of all. Dr. Pang is a very humble and practical person with real life lessons.  My first introduction to the real work place was in Dr. Pang's classes. I still remember the moment when Dr. Pang surprised the class and me mostly when he told us that Chemical engineers are excel engineers in the real world. I could not comprehend what he said first. However, short enough after graduation and working my first job at Fluor, I realize that I'm really an excel engineer. With a smile on my face , thank you Dr. Pang for your long lasting teaching and best of luck to you during your retirement. The whole CPP community and chemical industry will miss a legendary like you.

Regards,    
Ashraf Nabhani '98

Mani Firouzian '08

Dear Frances,

I would like to tell Dr. Pang that he is one of the best professors and role models I have ever had. In my opinion, a great professor is not only a professor who teaches students plenty of different subjects, but is also a professor who creates a passion for learning in students. This is one of the criteria that distinguished Dr. Pang from other professors in my experience as a student. The other admiring characteristic of Dr Pang is his relationship with his students. During the one and half years of attending his classes and working with him on multiple projects, I have always seen him as caring father who cared (and still care) about the future of every single student in his class. That was why he was the first person that I contacted after receiving my lay off notification couple years ago. I am sending you few pictures that I took with Dr Pang and  my senior design (pictures7 to 9) and senior project (pictures team 1 and 2) team as well as my graduation picture (picture 3) which show the characteristics that I mentioned above.

I don’t know how I can put all my feelings and respect for Dr. Pang into words, but I would like to say that he means a lot to me. That was why I spent a full day during my trip to Vancouver and visited University of British Columbia in order to find his graduation picture and take a picture with it (pictures 4 to 6).

I wish all the best for him, his family, and all great engineers who were trained by him.

Best Regards

Mani Firouzian

Senior Project Team 1

Senior Project Team 2

Graduation '08

University of British Columbia, '62-'63

Dr. Pang's graduating class



Senior Design pictures

Daniel Wu

Dr. Pang:


From your first and (maybe) last Chinese-Brazilian Chemical Engineer student who will always remember you. In case you are reading this during your next vacation, hope there is coconut water next to you at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Words cannot thank you enough for the wisdom, mentorship, and most important your continuous friendship. Your positive attitude and family values makes you a one of a kind and a role model for many of us. Someday I will tell your stories to my children; you are truly a gentleman and a scholar. Wish you all the best and joyful long life. If you ever have some additional time, let’s squeeze some afternoon dim-sum on the weekends to share more stories.


Daniel Wu

Meredith Mitchell

Hi Frances!

My name is Meredith. I was a student of your fathers at Cal Poly. I received an email asking if there were any words I would like to say about Dr. Pang, and of course, I would be honored!

The one thing that separates Dr. Pang from other professors is that he never makes you feel like a face in the crowd. He took time to talk to all of us and get to know all of us on a personal level that you don't often see with other professors.

I started the ChE program at Cal Poly in 1998. I met Dr. Pang at freshman orientation. I didn't have my first class with him until a few years later. He still remembered me and the goals I had set at freshman orientation. I was shocked. And impressed. After speaking with some of my other classmates, I realized that I was not the only one. Dr. Pang actually took interest in all of his students and paid attention when we talked. He would also talk about his children and his grandchildren, which put most of us at ease and made us realize he was not a big scary professor.

I had two children while attending Cal Poly, during my senior years, which I had split into two. Dr. Pang worked with me so that I did not fall behind and he was always available and more than happy to answer a question.


Dr. Pang is also incredibly respected in the ChE industry. He sent my resume to my current employer with an excellent letter of recommendation. I was interviewed and hired immediately. 5 years later, I am still here. My bosses have all worked with Dr. Pang and speak highly of him.

Years after graduation, there are quite a few of Dr. Pangs former students/coworkers that try to drag him out to lunch from time to time, if he can fit us in.

Dr. Pang is not only a great person, friend, father and grandfather, but he was fantastic teacher. Cal Poly is going to have a difficult time trying to fill in the hole that his retirement will leave.

I would like to say thank you for everything Dr. Pang! I don't think I could have done it without you! I wish you a happy retirement. Enjoy every minute you get to spend with your family and on your travels. You've definitely earned it!


Thank you for this opportunity Frances and I am looking forward to meeting all of you at the dinner. Take care!


~ Meredith Mitchell

Glory Liu

Dear Frances, 

My name is Glory Liu, was a student of Dr. Pang's. I graduated back in 2008. I realise that Dr. Pang has tons of students and certainly he won't remember all of them. So, I'm sending one picture with me in it (hopefully that'll refresh his memory =P) and also a picture of him I took in one of the lab classes, CHE 333?? =D

I really wish I could attend the event. I didnt hear about it until recently, but looking at the date, I still wont be able to make it. So I'm just going to deliver it in writing, I'd like to say "THANK YOU" to Dr. Pang. I've never really been a "school" girl or a teacher's favourite, but he really inspired me to work harder in my classes and pushed me to act like a grown up =( It's always a wonderful feeling to have someone has faith in us =)

I hope for the best in all of his future plans! May he always be as inspiring as he has always been.


Kind Regards,



~ Glory Liu ~

(working on second photo...)

Susan Tanarkit (Lee)

Hi Frances,

Yes, I do have my very own story of Dr. Hing Pang to share...

I was one of his students from the class of '96.  Back then, Dr. Pang was part-time teaching with Cal Poly's ChE department.  I remembered him as a very knowledgable and helpful professor.  He was always available to help us out on the Plant Design class.  And believe me, the idea of designing an Ammonia plant sounded foreign and impossible.  With his wealth of experience from the industry, the explanation might sound different from the textbook, but, they sure made sense much more so than the book!

Just before graduating, Dr. Pang had asked to review my resume.  I did so without thinking twice.  That, was pretty much how he got me started in the world of engineering.  I began my first real job as a Process Engineer with Brown & Root Braun almost immediately after graduation.  During my time at Brown & Root Braun, not only Dr. Pang was my neighbor, I was also working on studies led by him.  The values I gained by working with a mentor like him, was far more than any junior engineer could asked for.  (Oh, one thing I still remember well is the lunch crowd on Thursday.  That was because Hing Pang only worked on Thursday at B&R B at that time.  So, every Thursday when he was in the office, he would rally a big crowd to go sample all the Asian restaurants in the Alhambra area, one Thursday at a time!)

Now, at Technip, I am still surrounded by many former colleagues (from the CF Braun era) of Dr. Pang.  Also, I have come to know many great students of his since.  One thing for sure, Dr. Pang was one of the most endearing professor from the Cal Poly ChE!

Thank you for allowing me a chance to say 'Thanks' to Dr. Pang!

Best Regards,
Susan Tanartkit
(formerly Susan Lee)

Eric Gogley '01

Dr. Pang was one of my most favorite professors.  He shaped me through multiple classes and labs, not to mention Omega Chi Epsilon.  What I remember most about Dr. Pang was his real cool demeanor.  He never seemed to get flustered or angry, no matter how many stupid questions I asked.  He was always willing to help, even I had questions about a class taught by another instructor.  He would always stay later to help and wouldn't leave until you positively understood.

I have a funny anecdote to add too.  I used to bring my girlfriend, now my wife, to school with me on occasion.  She would sit out in the hall during my classes.  Dr. Pang would come out of his office and chat her up and try to get her to become a chemical engineer!  She always said he was the nicest, most friendly professor she met.  He always had her laughing.

-Eric Gogley
Class of 2001

Words from Michelle Weidler (Wilson)

Dear Dr. Pang,

I can’t begin to express what an impact you have had on my life. Once I decided to pursue a Chemical Engineering degree I had some tough decisions to make. I was self supporting and had a full time job that was paying my bills but not much more. I decided to quit my job and move in with my mother and give up all the financial freedom I had enjoyed for most of my life. If I didn’t make it through these last 3 years of college I didn’t know what I was going to do.

Yours was the first class that I attended at “real college”. You were a great teacher right off the bat. You explained what was expected of us, what our course curriculum would be, and most important, that you would always be there if we needed help. You were a patient teacher, and never hesitated to answer questions or help us on a one to one basis. I knew right away I had made the right decision in giving up all I knew, to better myself with a college degree.

One of the things I enjoyed most in your classes was your stories. Whether it was about the grandchildren, your travels or you college and professional career, you took time out of our busy schedules to tell us things about yourself and your life, and it made us feel closer to you not only as our teacher, but as a person.

Finally, I have to thank you for help and support you gave me while looking for a job. You took time out of you busy schedule to give me constructive criticism on my resume (which I desperately needed) and lead me the door of Technip. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be working here. The work is challenging and the people are wonderful. 

I’ve had several inspiring teachers and mentors throughout my 13 year college career, but you Dr. Pang, are at the top of that list. I wish you and your family joy and happiness in the years to come. Relax and enjoy life and your family. You’ve truly earned it!

With love and respect.

Sincerely, 

Michele Weidler (Wilson)

Celebrate Dr KH Pang's Years at Cal Poly Chemical Engineering!

Do you have words of appreciation for Professor Pang?  Maybe a funny story?  Share with your fellow alums, friends and colleagues!