USC Viterbi alumna Alice Gast, the former president of Imperial College London and Lehigh University (Photo/Courtesy of Imperial College London / Thomas Angus)
USC Viterbi alumna Alice Gast, (B.S. ChE ’80), an esteemed and globally recognized chemical engineering researcher and first woman president of both Imperial College London and Lehigh University, passed away on Oct. 27 in London after long battle with cancer. She was 67.
A USC 1980 valedictorian, Gast made important contributions to academia and science, making her one of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s most distinguished alumna, Dean Yannis C. Yortsos said.
Yortsos, who joined USC’s school of engineering in 1978, remembers Gast as a stellar student in his transport phenomena class. Even then, he said, she seemed special.
“It was clear to everyone that she was on a good trajectory and wanted to distinguish herself,” said Yortsos, who remained in touch with Gast. “She was smart and had interesting ideas and ambition.”
A “trailblazer,” Gast smashed through the glass ceiling, holding high-level university positions at a time when few women did, he added.
Like Yortsos, Theodore Tsotsis – the Robert E. Vivian Professor of Energy Resources at the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science – also taught Gast at USC. “She was exceptional, focused, a straight A student,” he said. “She was one of the best undergraduate students I’ve ever had.”
Najmedin Meshkati, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, industrial systems engineering, and international relations, first met Gast in 2011 in Baku, Azerbaijan. A former U.S. Department of State Jefferson Science Fellow, Meshkati was in the Central Asian country to give talks about aviation safety and engineering diplomacy at the invitation of the Azerbaijani government. Gast, then president of Lehigh, was there as a U.S. science envoy.
“That was the beginning of a long friendship and many conversations and emails with her and her family,” said Meshkati, adding that they shared a belief in the power of science diplomacy and were fans of one another’s published academic papers. “I would say she was the embodiment of a world-class academic and kind, gentle, humble, gracious and loyal human being.”
After graduating with her Bachelor of Science from USC, Gast earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1984. Her research encompassed interfacial phenomena, colloidal suspensions, and complex fluids. Co-author of the classic textbook “Physical Chemistry of Surfaces,” Gast was inducted, in 2001, into the National Academy of Engineering, the highest honor for engineers.
She was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the City and Guilds of London Institute, and the Académie des Technologies, France.
In 2006, Gast became the 13th president of Lehigh University, a position she held until 2014. During her tenure, she oversaw a $500 million capital campaign and expanded Lehigh’s physical size through the acquisition of 750 acres. “She led the university through a period of growth in research, academic innovation, global engagement and stronger community ties,” Lehigh said in a release.
Gast then moved overseas to become president of Imperial College, a role she held from 2014 to 2022. She made an indelible impression.
“Alice was known for her towering intellect, with a unique ability to see beyond the barriers that tend to confine us – be they academic, geographic, political or societal,” Imperial President Hugh Brady told the university’s online publication. “Her own research, which bridged many scientific fields, as well as her unwavering commitment to international collaboration, epitomized this spirit.”
Previously, Gast was on the faculty of Stanford University from 1985 to 2001 and later served as vice president for research and associate provost, as well as the Robert T. Haslam Chair in Chemical Engineering, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 2001 to 2006.
Former Imperial College President Alice Gast, B.S. ’80, hosts a select dinner on Sept. 15, 2019, in London for the Global Grand Challenges Summit. Attendees include (from left) USC Trustee Ming Hsieh, B.S. ’83, M.S. ’84; former USC faculty and Olin College President Emeritus Rick Miller; Gast; and USC Viterbi Dean Yannis Yortsos. All four are members of the National Academy of Engineering. (Photo/Courtesy of Yannis Yortsos)
She received multiple honorary degrees, including from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pierre and Marie Curie, and the University of Western Ontario.
Gast was named one of the top 100 “Modern Era” engineers in the U.S. under the category of “Leadership” by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. She also served on the board of directors of Chevron Corporation.
USC Viterbi honored her with the 2002 Distinguished Alumni Award in Academia and the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.
Pat Sonti, (B.S. ChE ‘80), managing director of investment banking at ArcStone Securities and Investments in New York City, considered Gast his “Trojan sister.” At USC, they both studied chemical engineering, were members of the USC track and field team – she did the long jump in her freshman year; he was a walk-on and ran the 800 meters – and had fathers who worked as engineers. Sonti, Gast, and her future husband, Bradley Askins, then a USC computer science student, often spent time together at the engineering quad area between classes and on walks to and from nearby student residences on Hoover Street.
“She was most brilliant, very insightful, highly motivated and a disciplined person. She wanted the best from you and the best from herself,” said Sonti, who nominated her for the 2013 Mork Family award.
“President John F. Kennedy once said: ‘The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.’ By that definition, Alice Gast was the gold standard,” Sonti added.
As Gast shared in her 1980 USC valedictorian speech:
“In these last four years we were also faced with discouraging realities about the world. We picked up the morning paper to read about plane crashes, riots, Jonestown, the Hillside Strangler, international terrorism and natural disasters.
Thus, we look ahead with guarded dreams and subconscious fears. We hope for Rose Bowl Sundays, good times, a stable job, a house and a pet dog. Yet we fear the possibility of war, economic crises, cold winters, hot summers and fuel shortages.
How will we, the class of 1980, individually and collectively, cope with these problems outside the sanctity of the University of Southern California?”
Forty-two years later, in her 2022 president’s address at Imperial College, Gast noted the parallels between now and then, and offered this by way of answer:
“I believed then and more strongly now in the power of education to instill confidence and to give students the confidence to be courageous in facing the difficulties of today and tomorrow.”
Gast is survived by her husband, Askins (B.A. History ’78, M.S. CS ’80), and children, Rebecca and David (M.S. CEE ’22).
Published on November 4th, 2025
Last updated on November 4th, 2025
