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George Kahl, the logistics coordinator for the TBS Engineering office in Albany, said it figures that his former boss would give $7 million to help create a new engineering building at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

It is just the sort of thing Peter Johnson would do, Kahl said.

Johnson 鈥渉as been active in trying to support engineering education at OSU,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e’s tried over the years to be on panels, provide internships and get cooperation between industry and engineering education.鈥�

Contributing money toward a major building would be the next logical step, Kahl said. The new educational and research facility for the College of Engineering will cost $40 million. If state matching funds were to come in, Sandra Woods, the dean of the college, said the laboratory building should be ready in two years.

The names of both Johnson and his wife, Rosalie, will be attached.

鈥淪he’s been a big part of keeping my business going as well as holding down the home front while I’m going around the world,鈥� Johnson said.

Johnson graduated from OSU with a degree in chemical engineering in 1955. He founded Tekmax Inc., which reportedly revolutionized battery manufacturing equipment, in Tangent in 1980. The company was sold to TBS Engineering in Albany in 2004.

鈥淭hey built the next machine downstream of ours in a factory, so it made a great marriage,鈥� Kahl said. 鈥淲e build specialty machinery for the battery industry. There is an excellent chance, whatever car you drive in the world, that the battery passed through one of our machines.鈥�

Kahl said Johnson is committed to education.

鈥淗e wants to make education more relevant for the kids coming out of school so they can get jobs,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e’s been very active in that regard.鈥�

鈥淭his is extraordinary for us,鈥� Woods said. 鈥淲e are experiencing incredible growth in terms of students and faculty. We need places for these people to sit.鈥�

Previous donations from the Johnsons helped build the CH2M HILL Alumni Center and the Joe Schulein Computer Laboratory, and established a scholarship-internship program for students in engineering.

Johnson said he’s particularly proud of the internship program. It pairs engineering students with Oregon businesses.

鈥淭he industry gets a worker with some experience, and the student gets paid,鈥� Johnson said.

Last year, he said, 27 students each received $4,000 for three months’ work.

The Johnsons’ $7 million donation adds to an earlier $10 million gift from an anonymous donor as well as $3 million in additional private money. Woods said state legislators in this session would need to approve matching funds for the building project to move forward.

Enrollment in the College of Engineering has increased nearly 34 percent over the past three years, and contract and grant awards for its faculty have increased nearly 30 percent, she said.

The center will house faculty members focusing on chemical, biological and environmental engineering. Woods said. They will address global problems that affect human health, energy and the environment.

鈥淭his new building will help to revolutionize how Oregon State approaches collaborative projects involving scientists and students in engineering and other colleges in essential areas of study and discovery,鈥� OSU President Edward Ray said at a presentation in Portland last week.

Ray added that Oregon’s financial health relies on the success of collaborative research initiatives. Last year, OSU’s engineering faculty received research grants and contracts totaling approximately $37 million. Companies spun off from college research earned more than half of the venture funding attracted by all Oregon businesses in the first half of 2010 鈥� more than $57 million in all.

鈥淥ur college has gained tremendous momentum over the last decade,鈥� Woods said. 鈥淲e are building critical mass in terms of faculty, students and external funding to the point where truly groundbreaking multidisciplinary work becomes possible, and one step forward leads rapidly to the next. The high-quality space provided by a new facility will spark the growth that brings the college to the next level.鈥�

Johnson said he is happy to help.

鈥淚 had made a fair amount of money from my business, so I wanted to give some back to the university,鈥� he said.