The first recipient of the Rex Young Panther Legend Award is Bill Bennett, class of ยด66. Bill concentrated on STEM classes at Permian, taking two years of chemistry including one under Lamar Bridges who was a major influence on many of us. Bill kept in contact with “Mr. B.” (Later Dr. Bridges) through the years as his career progressed. After graduating from PHS, Bill went to Ft. Worth and TCU where he received his B.A. in chemistry. After TCU, he moved over to Dallas and the U.T. Southwestern Medical School, where he earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry with his dissertation The role of mitochondria-bound 80S ribosomes in the biogenesis of yeast mitochondria.
(Buddy and Bill)
After several years in academia (Univ. of California at Irvine, Rice University, and UT Medical School at Houston), Bill joined Genentech, Inc. (http://www.gene.com) as a protein scientist. While in this position, he made several discoveries leading to the development of Activase ™, a treatment for certain types of strokes, infarctions and embolisms. After this, he was promoted to Sr Scientist in a department in Genentech dealing with the development of processes to support FDA approvals and consistent manufacturing.
During a period away from Genentech, as Chief Scientific Officer of Sensus, he led the research and development of Somavert, a treatment for acromegaly. He had senior positions at several other biotech firms before returning to Genentech in 2003.
In his second period at Genentech, he led a group of about 300 full-time employees, overseeing the cell line, cell culture and purification development for Genentech’s products, including microbial and mammalian cell-based processes.
In 2010 Bill received the TCU Distinguished Alumni Award.
TCU Distinguished Alumni Award 
He has co-authored some 50 peer-reviewed articles and has 19 U.S. and multiple foreign patents.
Bill still serves on the scientific boards of several biotech firms and academic institutions, as well as consulting.
