Inventor donates $2 million to KU for physics and nursing programs

“I hope that somebody doesn’t have to work quite as hard as I did to make it from point A to point B,” said Feaster. “It might even allow them time enough to be inventive or care giving, to help other people.”

As a youth growing up during the Depression, Feaster knew his father’s job of selling farm equipment didn’t allow for extras. His parents, Ethel and George Dewey Feaster, stressed the importance of an education. “Going to college was always a given for me,” said Feaster. “But I knew I would have to have jobs to relieve the stress on my family.”

Throughout his career, his education opened doors. “I think the importance of an education is that it generates the self confidence that you can fit into any situation, that there’s not going to be someone in the room who can put you down because of your inferior education — because you don’t have an inferior education — not if you’ve been through the hoops at KU,” he said.

Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little expressed gratitude for the gift. “Gene combined hard work with his KU education, and as a result contributed to the health and well-being of countless people,” she said. “That’s our hope for all of our graduates — that they’ll use their KU degrees to become leaders in their fields for the benefit of others. Gene’s generosity will help make that hope a reality.”

Feaster led a two-pronged career, the first in radiation physics. He began at the Radio Corporation of America, and continued at Westinghouse and Corning Glass. At Westinghouse, he was twice named “Inventor of the Year;” he holds 10 U.S. patents. He began the second part of his career by studying medical physics at the University of Virginia. This led him in 1977 to KU Medical Center, where he taught radiation therapy to students in nursing and radiology until his 1992 retirement.

It was at KU Medical Center that Feaster invented Superflab, a synthetic gel material. He explained its use:

“When you deliver radiation to a patient, there is more radiation delivered at a certain depth in a patient than at any other depth, and you want a handle to move that depth around,” said Feaster. “If the tumor is near the surface, this radiation is going to deliver that maximum depth farther down in the patient than the tumor is. So you put Superflab on the patient to simulate tissue, and the maximum dose of radiation is delivered at the right place — the tumor.”

KU School of Nursing Dean Karen Miller, said she was honored that Dr. Feaster’s gift would benefit the School of Nursing. “Dr. Feaster has been a longtime supporter of the School of Nursing’s annual recognition of individual nurses in our region,” said Miller. “He has contributed monetary awards to each winner of this competitive honor for exemplary work in nursing. Dr. Feaster once told me that he experienced first-hand the importance of competent, compassionate nurses during the illness of his dear wife, Ida. This generous gift is his personal commitment to a future of KU nursing excellence that will benefit many other Kansas patients and families.”

Danny Anderson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, expressed his appreciation for the physics scholarship. “Gene Feaster is leaving a legacy that will benefit students for years to come,” said Anderson. “This gift ensures we can recruit and support future generations of talented physics majors, while his story of dedication to the pursuit of education serves as an example to us all. I am grateful for his generosity.”