I met our very first recruited student at the bus station and carried his bags into his lodgings in Prince House. The department put down roots in 1966 and became official in 1974, with Porter serving as head until 1976. After stepping down as department head, Porter continued his research on the characterization and rheology of liquid crystals and other polymers. Over the years, the department evolved dramatically, from that first student and a cluster of offices in the basement of Goessmann Laboratory, to more than 150 researchers whose laboratories and offices are housed in the new Silvio O. Conte National Center for Polymer Research. The department has been consistently rated the best of its kind in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
Services are private, and the family has requested no flowers.
Donations may be made in his name to the Hospice of Hampshire County. A memorial symposium is being planned by his former colleagues.