The high education standard and the Avancez-Spirit of Chalmerists has spread our graduates around the world, especially to North America. The scale of industry, the volume of research and the business opportunities, are some of the big attractors here. Today there are more than 1,000 Chalmerists in our region.
The first on record organized meeting between Chalmers Alumni in our region occurred in December 1949!
Chalmersska Ingenjörsföreningen USA-Canada (translation: the Chalmers Engineering Association USA-Canada) was started by Gunnar Nicholson K1916 and Odd Albert, V1920. M. Albert held the annual meetings in his home in New Jersey until 1975. After that, Sverker Persson, M45, State College, PA took over as Chairman.
The first known meeting was in December 1949, when Odd Albert hosted 24 Chalmers Alumni in New York. See Teknisk Tidskrift April 29, 1950. There is also this note November 1950 Teknisk Tidskrift Nov 11, 1950:
ODD ALBERT, Co-Founder & Chairman of USA-Chalmerister Dec. 1949, Chalmers medal 1975
Professor Odd Albert, född 1894, hade efter civilingenjörsexamen vid Chalmers 1920 verkat som professor och konsult i USA. USA har som ett teknikens föregångsland attraherat många Chalmerister.
English translation: Professor Odd Albert, born 1894, had after his Masters in Engineering at Chalmers 1920 operated as a professor and consultant in the USA. The US as a technological leader had attracted many Chalmerists.
GUNNAR NICHOLSON Co-Founder and Secretary for USA-Chalmerister Dec. 1949
Efter fyra år vid olika massa- och pappersbruk i Sverige flyttade han först till Kanada och sedan till USA för att där skapa sig en framtid. Gunnar Nicholson avled 12 maj 1988 vid 94 års ålder. Han tilldelades TAPPIs guldmedalj 1954. Han var en erkänt god organisatör och fungerade som något av en Vd ett besök i Sverige 1984 utgav han donationer av 4 Mkr till att främja forskningssamarbeten Sverige – USA.
English translation: After four years at different pulp and paper -mills in Sweden he first moved to Canada and then to the USA to create a future for himself. Gunnar Nicholson passed 12 May 1988 at the age of 94. He was awarded TAPPI’s gold medal in 1954. He was a recognized good organizer and akin to a VD during a visit to Sweden, in 1984, he gave 4 million SEK in donations to facilitate research between Sweden – USA.
We still keep the Chalmers spirit alive and thriving among Chalmers graduates in North America!
Source: http://runeberg.org/tektid/1950/0414.html
How we continued
Annual alumni meetings became a tradition for our organization, except just a few times where the meeting had to be canceled, for example due to Covid 19. Our annual meetings have attracted from 10 to 90 persons. We have conducted study visits at some exceptional US and Canadian institutions from NASA to a distillery. The program has been extended to a 4-day event occurring at the US Memorial Weekend in May. And the programs have been more and more elaborate, attracting a large number of special participants.
In 2018-19 we merged our prior organization CING USA-Canada with US Friends of Chalmers, a contributor to Chalmers scholarships for extra bright students in our region. This was set up several years ago by Bo Hedfors, E68, as one of the means of bringing Chalmers to a high international status.
The joint organization Chalmers Alumni Association USA-Canada continues the traditions of both prior groups. And we have been through a period of virtual meetings and digitalization, but now getting back to more normal times.
Chalmers Alumni Association U.S. and Canada (CAAI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
We operate exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes.
Established first in May of 2002 as U.S. Friends of Chalmers University of Technology Inc by Chalmers together with a group of alumni, the organization has always supported initiatives to advance education and research at Chalmers University of Technology through financial donations and networking in the United States and Canada.
Photo: of Chalmers Lindholmen, which is located in Hisingen, Gothenburg / Sweden.
Our vision to keep the Chalmers spirit alive and thriving among Chalmers graduates in North America!
As the first organization of its kind in the U.S. supporting a Swedish university, CAAI has supported many educational initiatives via the strong connection many of the Chalmers alumni feel for their unique “Chalma Mater”.
Being a nonprofit, CAAI usually solicits grants and contributions from members and generous donors in the U.S. and Canada to fund scholarships for talented American and Canadian students who’d like to study at Chalmers.
Additionally, the organization organizes social, educational and business events via its local chapters to create value for its members and communities it operates in.