UW Foundation Welcomes Gene Humphrey as New Board Member

The University of Wyoming Foundation welcomes Gene Humphrey -- a veteran, eminent engineer, global entrepreneur and philanthropist -- to the UW Foundation Board of Directors.

“Wyoming taught me to work hard, embrace challenges and turn ideas into reality,” Humphrey says. “I want our students to seize those same opportunities, build something extraordinary and maybe even ask, ‘Doesn’t everybody live like this?’ as they make their mark on the world.”

“We’re thrilled to have Gene on the foundation board,” says Doug Stark, chair of the UW Foundation Board. “His experience in engineering, ag and business is a big win for us. Gene’s story captures what makes UW grads special -- it’s that ‘unfair advantage’ we all talk about. We can’t wait to have his perspective helping guide the UW Foundation.”

With a distinguished track record and a strong commitment to Wyoming’s university, Humphrey is set to make significant contributions to further the mission of UW and its foundation.

“Gene’s appointment to our board is a great step forward for the foundation,” says John Stark, president and CEO of the UW Foundation. “His proven leadership and deep expertise come at the perfect time, and we’re confident he’ll help shape a bold, impactful future for UW. We’re energized by what’s ahead and excited to have him on this journey with us.”

Humphrey grew up on a farm near Burns. He graduated from Burns High School in 1964 but couldn’t immediately go to college due to financial constraints, so he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He graduated flight school as a warrant officer and flew more than 1,800 combat hours in attack helicopters -- including the Cobra, the Army’s first attack helicopter -- during two deployments in Vietnam. He was severely wounded in 1968 and spent over eight months recovering, almost losing his leg to infection. He took that time to read extensively before returning to active duty as a Cobra pilot instructor.

Humphrey then used the GI Bill to attend UW. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1973. He worked at the Laramie Energy Research Center as a project engineer on the Hanna Underground Coal Gasification Project, and he also reenlisted in the Wyoming Army National Guard as a helicopter pilot. He served once again in Iraq during the Gulf War supporting the 3rd Armor Division.

Humphrey then leveraged his engineering expertise to co-found World Energy in 1979. He led the Byrne Creek Power Project, a commercial underground coal gasification project in Wyoming, and co-founded Amwest International, an oil and gas development company. Humphrey joined the Department of Defense in 1987 as a senior mechanical engineer based in Cheyenne working on weapons systems.

After retiring from the Department of Defense, Humphrey was touring a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Silicon Valley when inspiration hit. He filed a patent for a “cleaning system, device and method” for semiconductor manufacturing. This led to the creation of the semiconductor wafer-test cleaning industry and his company, International Test Solutions (ITS), for which he was president and CEO. He sold the company in 2022.

During that time, Humphrey not only led and managed the company, but he also was the main contributor to ITS’s technical portfolio as an inventor or co-inventor of more than 70 U.S. and international patents. He has written and published numerous articles on the topic of cleaning properties of advanced polymers and has been a guest lecturer around the world. He also has testified in front of Congress on the topic of spent nuclear fuel disposal.

Currently, Humphrey is co-owner and managing partner of the 9H Ranch, a 50,000-acre ranch in Albany and Goshen counties that runs more than 3,000 head of Angus cattle. To give back to Wyoming and to UW, Humphrey founded the 9H Research Foundation, a nonprofit that provides funding to Wyoming students for real-world practical projects, scholarships, internships, awards, competitions and prototype building.

Humphrey’s philanthropy has supported student internships, scholarships, competitions and project funding. 9H’s SmartRanch™ projects and internships have produced geothermal stock tanks, automated agricultural drone projects and geographic information system entrepreneurship opportunities for students.

The 9H Research Foundation has built a 500-kilowatt, 1,200-panel, 5-acre solar research facility for the benefit of UW with student input via senior design projects and energy competitions. The power sold from the 30-year life of the solar farm directly funds UW students. Humphrey also has funded two scholarships and the Gene Humphrey Professorship in Engineering, which will be awarded to a distinguished UW faculty member whose research and teaching focus is on material science and/or energy.