A native of Houghton, Mr. Herman 'Winks' Gundlach received his baccalaureate in civil engineering from Harvard University in 1935. During his student years, he played varsity football and lacrosse for the Crimson and captained the 1934 football team. He was named to various All-Eastern and All-American football teams and played for the College All-Star Squad against the Chicago Bears in the 1935 All-Star Game.
Following graduation, he played professional football with the Boston Redskins for a brief period before returning to Houghton to manage his family's construction business. From 1941 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was discharged with the rank of Major. Following the war, he returned to Houghton and built Gundlach Construction into one of the largest and most respected general contracting firms in Michigan. From 1946 until he retired in 1988, Gundlach Construction built many, if not most, of the major structures in the upper peninsula. Among the buildings constructed by Gundlach are many of the Michigan Tech buildings including Dillman Hall, the home of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
Herman is past President of Copper Country Concrete Corporation, President of Douglass House Hotel Corporation, former Chair and President of Houghton National Bank and serves on the boards of several other corporations. Included in Mr. Gundlach's impressive list of honors are: Past President and Honorary Life Member of the Michigan Chapter, Associated General Contractors; Fellow of ASCE; Director and Chair, Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home; Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame; Dial Help Outstanding Service Award; National Organization for Women, Outstanding Service Award; Harvard Sports Hall of Fame; and others too numerous to mention.
Herman is a member of the Michigan Tech President's Club, received the Michigan Tech Distinguished Service Award in 1983, and was elected to the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Over the years, he has been a special friend of the civil and environmental engineering students at Michigan Tech. Herman was married to Barbara Kettle Gundlach who passed away in 1983. He has four daughters and four grandchildren.
From 1995 Induction to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy