THE NOT SO FINAL FRONTIER Embry-Riddle Alumni Lead a New Wave of Space Exploration PAGE 14 from the PRESIDENT

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY SPRING 2015

THE NOT SO FINAL FRONTIER Embry-Riddle alumni lead a new wave of space exploration PAGE 14 FROM THE PRESIDENT

Volume 11, No. 1 Lift, the alumni magazine of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is published twice annually (spring and fall).

Copyright © 2015 the highest level available, from the Southern Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Florida/Arizona/Worldwide Association of Colleges and Schools 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Commission on Colleges; All rights reserved • Recruited more top faculty than ever Senior Vice President of External Relations before to conduct leading research; and Chief Marketing Ofﬁ cer Bill Hampton (‘98, ‘00, DB) • Provided key services to help faculty Senior Executive Director of Development manage intellectual property and commercial- Christopher Lambert, J.D. Executive Director of Alumni Relations ization opportunities, resulting in signiﬁ cant Bill Thompson (’87, PC) increases in patent applications; Senior Editorial Director Anthony Brown • Adopted enrollment strategies that Editor have increased the number and quality of Sara Withrow our students to unprecedented levels; Communications Specialists Melanie Stawicki Azam • Secured vital funding for the develop- Alan Marcos Pinto Cesar

ment of a wind tunnel at our Aerospace CONTRIBUTORS Research and Technology Park; Andreia Brown (‘15, DB) Fifty years ago this April, Embry-Riddle made • Constructed new facilities at our Yoon Choi, Director of Annual Giving Bob Cooper its historic move from Miami to Daytona Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses, Keith Deaton (’05, ’12, DB), Director of Beach, taking a giant and uncharted step with more to come, to advance our Alumni Relations forward in its mission to become the world’s research capabilities, accommodate our Lauren Eggert, Art Director Molly Justice, Director of Communications, leader in aviation and aerospace education. growth and enhance the student experience. Embry-Riddle Worldwide That mission, I think it’s safe to say, has With these investments in talent, resources Jason Kadah, Communications Manager been an unqualifi ed success. and partnership opportunities, I am confi dent Paula Kropp, Database Manager Daryl LaBello, Multimedia Producer But the hard-earned leadership position that today’s Embry-Riddle will achieve a global David Massey, Multimedia Producer we enjoy today is not a state of being; it is reputation as the entrepreneurial university of Kevin Montgomery, University Archivist a way of life. Embry-Riddle has never been aviation and aerospace. Edmund Odartey (’04, ’10, DB), Director of Alumni Relations, Daytona Beach content to sit still. While today’s Embry-Riddle I believe that this is a time of great trans- Capt. Brian Schiff (‘93, WW) is the product of a vision begun long ago, formation at Embry-Riddle—the beginning of Published by McMURRY/TMG, LLC tomorrow’s Embry-Riddle will be a product of something very Senior Content Editor our vision today. special. Much Tom Weede Creative Director And our vision is as ambitious as ever, like those who Ed Mann with our next great step already in motion. moved Embry- Senior Art Director Tamara Kopper Today, Embry-Riddle is on its way to Riddle from Production Manager becoming an entrepreneurial university— Miami to Daytona Shannon Cross Production Technology Specialist a research-intensive institution of higher Beach 50 years Sonia Fitzgerald education that is dedicated to the pur- ago, the course Account Manager Mary Jane Sweetland suit and creation of new knowledge for we are on now commercial applications. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is will mark a new an Affi rmative Action/Equal Opportunity It is an ambitious vision, but we are era of achievement for our great university. Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, already making great progress. On every age, national origin, handicap, veteran’s status or sexual orientation. front—faculty, students, facilities, technol- My best, Nonprofi t identifi cation: 59-0936101. ogy and programs—we are investing in Change address, unsubscribe or email the editor at [email protected]. expanding our capabilities. In just a few PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER short years, we have: • Added Ph.D. programs in our key areas of John P. Johnson, Ph.D. excellence, achieving a Level VI classifi cation, PRESIDENT AND CEO Spring 2015

10 14 20

In Other WOrds aLumnI @WOrk 5 PilotPerspective 20 OnStageintheAir Capt. Brian Schiff (‘93, WW) Scott “Scooter” yoak (’08, dB) is 14 explains why pilots shouldn’t living a pilot’s dream; he flies a over-rely on the autopilot North American P-15 mustang for a living All WIngs Of Legacy 6 VeteranRootsRun gIVIng tO embry-rIddLe Systems Deep 22 GivingaLiftto At the height of the Vietnam War, FuturePilots Go service members found a haven Citation Jet Pilots owner-Pilot at Embry-Riddle during turbulent Embry-Riddle alumni Association and the Bob hoover

d ’60s, ’70s and beyond legacy foundation award AR g play key roles in space scholarships for flight students N i W exploration and the growing fLIght Path EAN solar system economy aLumnI In actIOn k: d t 8 Lovea FirstFlight A

yo Bill Borgsmiller (‘97, PC) lives, 24 ChangingLives, ; E ti breathes, works and plays aviation, S i OneScarfataTime R and always has—and it all started

Ch An alumnus’ efforts to benefit

AN by happenstance y

R Afghan widows and their families : B N tio 10 FindingNEEMO RA t S Embry-Riddle teams up with NASA

illu to conduct research at the world’s RE

tu only undersea laboratory EA ; f SA NA y of ES t

R 2 Chatter 4 Feedback 26 AlumniNews 32 ClassNotes ou

C News and notes Embry-Riddle A message from the Find out what read mo from the world of alumni and friends Alumni Association, your fellow lift

NEE Embry-Riddle offer comments upcoming events alumni are up d OnLIne!

AN and opinions and more to now to to ho P

R On the cOVer: NASA astronaut U.S. Air Force Col. Terry Virts (‘97, WW) gazes at Earth from inside the Cupola, the observatory module VE o

C of the International Space Station (ISS). Virts is serving a five-and-a-half month mission aboard the ISS. He returns to Earth in May.

LIFT sPrIng 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EdU 1 NEWS & NOTES FROM THE WORLD OF EMBRY-RIDDLE CHATTER

ALTIMETER: HIGH POINTS AT Growing Gains EMBRY-RIDDLE Prescott Campus expands housing capacity to AffordableCollegeOnline.org named the Prescott Campus accommodate growth among its “Million Dollar ROI” (Return on Investment) ranking. ith occupancy rates hovering at 104 percent for the past two years, the Prescott Campus is in dire need of more on-campus housing for its growing student population. A new 66-unit, Scholar-athlete Andrea three-story residence hall, which broke ground in January, will help ll this need. Froshaug, a junior at the “We currently have 865 available beds. This accounts for no single rooms, which is a Daytona Beach Campus, was high demand and, I would argue, a growing trend in higher education,” says Jason Langston, honored as the Women’s director of housing and residence life at the Prescott Campus. Adding to this trend is an Soccer National Player of overall growth in student population. Fall 2014 marked the largest ever incoming class of the Year by the NAIA and the National Soccer Coaches freshmen at the Prescott Campus and a record number of students overall. As of August Association of America. W2014, the campus boasted 2,035 students, an increase of nearly 10 percent compared with fall 2013. The new residence hall, which is expected to be complete in December and open for business The Prescott Campus’s soccer as of January 2016, will add 264 beds, bringing the total on-campus housing complement to 1,123. programs produced 12 NAIA The 66,191-square-foot coed facility will accommodate four students per unit. “Each suite will have Scholar-Athletes, men and the capacity to accommodate up to six students in an overbooked situation,” says Chris Hardesty, women players who earned Embry-Riddle’s director of planning and construction management. KORNER, AYERS: DAVID MASSEY a 3.5 GPA or higher. The estimated $15 million facility will include a small tness center, a self-use laundromat, vend- ing areas, a conference and meeting room, and an exterior patio, Hardesty adds. The Southern Association “The last residence halls built at Prescott were the Thumb Butte Complex, a series of four modu- of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges lar buildings that house 120 students,” Langston says. They were completed in 2002. “We eagerly awarded Embry-Riddle its anticipate the completion of this new facility,” he adds. “I know that our students are excited about highest level of accreditation, the increased housing availability it will provide.” —Sara Withrow Level VI: Institutions that Offer Four or More Doctorates.

Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Embry-Riddle and Flight Research to Develop Aircraft Training Programs Campus online bachelor’s degree programs were ranked The Robertson Safety Institute at Embry- No. 5 for the second con- Riddle’s Prescott Campus and Flight Research secutive year by U.S. News & Inc. have united to produce world-class World Report. training and curriculum programs for aircraft loss-of-control situations. U.S. News & World Report The agreement couples the extensive named Embry-Riddle’s aviation knowledge of the world’s larg- undergraduate Aerospace est aerospace university with the hands- Engineering program No. 1 (DB) on approach to loss-of-control recovery and No. 3 (PC). The Daytona experience provided by the Mojave, Beach Campus was also Calif.-based corporation. named Best Southern “Partnering with Flight Research is University for veterans and part of our commitment as a university to active service members. understand the science of aviation safety, ensure our students receive the best train- Embry-Riddle is now the only ing in the world, and share our knowledge university in the nation to offer with all aviators,” says Erin Bowen, who a complete slate of Human chairs the Prescott Campus Safety Science Factors degrees: B.S., M.S. department, which includes the Robertson William C. Korner, chairman and CEO of Flight Research Inc., left, and Ph.D. Safety Institute. —Jason Kadah and Frank Ayers, chancellor of Embry-Riddle Prescott Campus.

2 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU not a Game Virtual crash lab teaches aircraft accident investigation and analysis ALTIMETEr (conTInuEd)

It may look like the latest version of Call of Duty, but it’s not a game. It’s an assignment in ASCI 615 Aviation/Aerospace Accident Investigation and Analysis at Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus. Daytona Beach Campus “The virtual crash lab provides a unique, stimulating and enjoyable environment for students to Women’s Soccer Coach practice accident investigation techniques and for faculty to evaluate students on their understanding Samantha Bohon was inducted and application of investigative technologies,” says Associate Professor Katherine Moran. into the Seabreeze High School Graduate students inspect plane crash Hall of Fame. In 2014, Bohon scenes and collect data—all from the comfort led Embry-Riddle to its eighth of their home, office or classroom. Much like consecutive NAIA national a video game, students only advance once tournament appearance. they’ve successfully mastered certain tasks. Launched in May 2014, the virtual crash University Business magazine lab first introduces students to an animated recognized Embry-Riddle crash using a short video. Students then choose as a Model of Efficiency a male or female avatar to be the National for streamlining operations Transportation Safety Board investigator who through technology. walks through the crash site. Watch the virtual crash investigation trailer: Allianz Global Corporate & http://bit.ly/1IstITJ —Molly Justice Specialty recognized Daytona Beach Campus faculty and students for compiling and analyzing 60 years of aviation safety reports for its Global Aviation Safety Study: Supplying the Demand for UAS Operators http://bit.ly/1z6XaNj. Graduates find ready job market in states and abroad

ilots and operators for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are in high demand, says by ThE nuMbErs Dan Macchiarella, professor and chair of Degrees the Aeronautical Science department at of Interest Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. Largest Fastest If and when the FAA publishes regulations Program by Growing Enrollment Program for commercial use of UAS, the need for operators is likely to grow beyond the cur- Aerospace unmanned rent strained supply. Engineering Aircraft systems P science “With the changes in the global war on terror, 1,263 the U.S. government is contracting companies students 1,681.82% to train their pilots and/or to go on government missions. That’s where many of our graduates go,” Aerospace Macchiarella says. Engineering One hundred percent of the program’s gradu- 638 ates are employed within one year, he adds. They students find jobs with government agencies in the United Mechanical Engineering States, as well as agencies in countries that allow UAS UNivERSity commercial use of UAS. Enrollment has ballooned 85.14% Read more about how Embry-Riddle is shaping from 11 students, when the program began in 2011, Aeronautics the unmanned aircraft systems industry: to more than 200 in the fall of 2014. Embry-Riddle alumni.erau.edu/UASResource 5,572 now touts the largest collegiate UAS program students Aviation in the country. business Administration Students enrolled in the UAS degree pro- but due to national security interests regulating gram study engineering and robotics, as well the technology, the degree program is only avail- 110.98% as operating, maintaining and programming able to U.S. citizens. small and medium-sized UAS. Graduates can Currently, a pilot’s license is not required work as UAS operators, as well as sensor techni- to complete the program. But that may change cians, mission planners and communications soon, Macchiarella says. “If the FAA rules that Daytona Beach Campus support personnel. operating a UAS requires some level of pilot Prescott Campus The Advanced Flight Simulation Center at certification, we’ll probably require that level Worldwide Campus

ssey NOTES: “Fastest growing” is based on four-year

A the Daytona Beach Campus includes multiple from our graduates. But right now, both groups rate of growth; it does not include programs with M less than four years of data. All data reflects fall D simulator stations with controls similar to a of students are getting hired.” erau.edu/degrees/ vi enrollment trends through 2014. A Predator or Reaper-class aircraft. Embry-Riddle’s unmanned-aircraft-systems-science

s: D SOURCE: ERAU Office of Institutional Research A program focuses on commercial uses for UAS, —Alan Marcos Pinto Cesar u

LIFT SPRiNG 2015 ALuMNI.ERAu.EDu 3 COMMENTS AND OPINIONS FROM EMBRY-RIDDLE ALUMNI AND FRIENDS FEEDBACK

FROM THE EDITOR

ift did something different this fall. Did you catch it? For the fi rst icon of aviation history. I carry it in my wal- time in the history of the publication, Lift took its content off the let to this day. Do note which direction the page, literally. With support from the Alumni Association and the “Eagle” is fl ying on the card! Barry Cohen (‘79, ‘80, DB) offi ce of External Relations, Lift hosted a lively panel discussion A.S. Aviation Management; based on a topic explored in the fall 2014 edition: unmanned air- B.S. Aeronautical Science; MBA-Aviation craft systems. Held Sept. 18, 2014, at the Daytona Beach Campus, the L Article Sparks Memories inaugural Lift, Off the Page round-table event featured faculty/alumni Thank you for sending me the copy of Lift subject matter experts, who examined the challenges and opportunities magazine, which contained a picture of Royal Air Force cadets on parade at Riddle surrounding the emerging UAS industry. Prescott Campus students Field during World War II [Wings of Legacy, watched simultaneously at fall 2014]. It is possible that I was in this a viewing party there, and group. I did my fl ying training there early in 1945 and will never forget the hospitality of alumni tuned in online to the the kind people of Clewiston and West Palm livestream presentation. Beach, led by Mrs. Ira Nesmith. I have been back many times with my wife (whose Missed it? Watch Lift, Off the engagement ring I bought in Miami). Page here: http://youtu.be/ My thanks to you for reviving those memories. Fmc0bkRrb4w. We’re planning Peter Brannan (’45, BFTS, Non-degree) another Lift, Off the Page for this No. 5 British Flying Training School (Course 25) fall. Let us know what you think: EDITOR’S NOTE: The picture to which you [email protected]. refer, Peter, actually depicts Embry-Riddle’s —SARA WITHROW, EDITOR Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Fla., where Royal Air Force (RAF) cadets were trained from 1941-42. Thereafter, RAF training was moved to Riddle Field in Clewiston, Fla.

Plaudits for Lif t, Off the Page ERAU Aviation Icon I cannot thank you enough for provid- I met the late John Paul Riddle, one of ing me with the link to the videotape of Embry-Riddle’s founders, while I was a the Lift, Off the Page panel discussion freshman studying aeronautical science in TALK TO US [Sept. 18, 2014], which allowed me to gain September 1975. Later, as an airline pilot, We invite your feedback on Lift tremendous knowledge on unmanned air- I met Mr. Riddle again in Seattle, Wash., content or topics related to the uni- craft systems (UAS). The participants were around 1985-86 at an alumni get-together. versity. Letters may be edited for full of skills and experience. I can assure It was here that he gave me his card style, length and clarity. Submission you that students have gained great insight with his Miami home information on the does not guarantee publication. on UAS applications and future usage. Your reverse side. The Miami connection was presentation is proof of the reasons why our that the parents of my wife, Julie (then my EMAIL: [email protected] university will always be the BEST nation- girlfriend), lived in Miami. Mr. Riddle said, WRITE: Lift Editor wide. Again, thank you. “Anytime you are in Miami, you two come ERAU Alumni Relations

Eugene Siewe (‘08, ‘12, WW) over for a visit.” Meeting the man on these 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. LEO ALEX A.S. Professional Aeronautics; two occasions was incredible. To me, the Daytona Beach, FL 32114 B.S. Professional Aeronautics card with Mr. Riddle’s note is a priceless

4 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU In Other WOrds

Pilot Perspective: Automation Is a Tool Not a Crutch

By Capt. Brian SChiff “heads-down” throughout (‘93, WW) the level-off, completely trusting that the autopilot Aviation safety is improving, would dutifully perform but advances in automa- as programmed. He hadn’t tion are creating another developed the healthy dis- danger—automation trust for automation that I dependency. In the last had. I watched this display of half-decade, several airline automation dependency with accidents have been attrib- dismay. The autopilot did its uted in part to a pilot’s over- job, but he never looked up to reliance on the autopilot and confirm it. To teach him not to other automated systems. do this, I tweaked the altitude These include Colgan Flight alerter when he wasn’t looking. 3407 (2009); Air France This sounded a warning that Capt. Brian Schiff Flight 447 (2009); Asiana we had “busted” our altitude. Flight 214 (2013); and UPS His flinch and the adrenaline Flight 1354 (2013), to name a few. Additionally, automation rush that no doubt followed would hopefully help him dependency has been indicated in an increasing number of remember this lesson. general aviation accidents. Modern autopilots have become There are two fundamental reasons for autopilot mishaps. so reliable that they have lulled us into a sense of compla - Either the autopilot doesn’t respond as programmed, or it duti - cency. For the sake of safety, pilots must view the autopilot as fully obeys an erroneous command. Safety is dramatically a tool to be utilized, not a crutch. increased if both of these factors are vigilantly monitored and When I began learning to fly (and, I am still learning), kept in check. autopilots were so unreliable that we habitually kept a Despite the advancements in technology, there are close eye on them. Even if an autopilot had a heading-hold still occasions when manual control trumps cockpit auto - mode, it was only regarded as a “wing-leveler,” enabling a mation. For example, using the autopilot during a visual pilot to look away for just a moment or two. The Boeing 727’s approach can often cause an unstabilized descent, a leading autopilot could be engaged in either pitch or roll mode, or cause of airplane accidents. Especially from a downwind both. We often would disconnect only the pitch mode to leg, executing a visual approach with the autopilot can be manually make changes, like leveling off or beginning a more complex than clicking it off and simply flying the descent. This was because hand-flying was smoother than airplane manually. the autopilot. Also, the 727’s antiquated autopilot could not A pilot’s prime directive is to fly the airplane safely. This be relied upon to level off at the preselected altitude. Some means that he or she should be skilled in operating at all didn’t even have altitude-capture capability. levels of automation, including the lowest level—flying by Today’s autopilots are far more advanced. They rival and hand. I suggest that all pilots maintain their flying profi - exceed the smooth flying of skilled pilots, so the pervasive ciency by giving the automation a break and flying the air - tendency is to use them more. Excessive use of aircraft auto - plane by hand regularly. mation can, however, lead to complacency and the erosion There is no substitute for a well-trained and proficient of basic flying skills. pilot. The autopilot’s engage switch should not be a pilot’s For example, while my new-hire co-pilot was flying the disengage switch. MD-80, I made the required callout 1,000 feet prior to the target level-off altitude. He acknowledged the “one-to-go” Editor’s NotE: Schiff earned a Bachelor of Science in Professional call, but before reaching the assigned altitude, he leaned Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle. He is an MD-80 captain for a down to retrieve something from his kit-bag. He remained legacy airline and a part-time flight instructor.

SEnD US yOUr StOry In Other Words gives you the opportunity to share your industry-related or personal perspective with Lift readers. Email submissions/proposals to [email protected].

LIFT SprinG 2015 aLumnI.ERau.EDu 5 Wings of Legacy

Veteran Roots Run Deep

board of trustees; and Frank Forrest, Service members found haven at vice president for campus planning and coordination, and Herb Mansfield, the Embry-Riddle during turbulent ’60s dean of students, were both retired Army colonels. A refurbished U.S. Naval and ’70s, and beyond Air Station, the campus had a built-in military aesthetic. Old barracks served as a student dormitory, and the ground school and training buildings were class- rooms and labs. An abandoned runway was the main campus parking lot. By AlAn MArcos Pinto cesAr decAdes And sArA WithroW Campus Clashes oF sUPPort Jim Ladesic (‘67, DB), who as a student helped Embry-Riddle’s support he height of the Vietnam War protest move- move Embry-Riddle from its Miami Campus to for the armed forces ment was a troublesome time to begin a Daytona Beach in April 1965, says hippies, often dates back to the 1940s, military career. By 1970, college students viewed as anti-war pacifists, had a hard time at when it created pilot weren’t just burning draft cards, they were Embry-Riddle. “I remember in 1966 or ‘67, a guy training centers under setting fire to ROTC buildings at campuses came into one of my classes with long green hair contract with the U.S. across the country. and earrings. The vets took care of that. I heard later War Department. In 1970, John Grones (‘74, DB), now a retired that they gave him a ‘very nice’ haircut that he did then President Hunt colonel from the U.S. Air Force Reserve, not fully appreciate.” Ladesic adds, “There was truly established residence says things were different at Embry-Riddle. a sense of patriotism that permeated the student education centers at As a student at the University of Tennessee, attitude, and it was clearly associated with the military Photos courtesy of military bases in Fort he witnessed a flag burning. Around the same time, side of aviation.” Rucker, Ala.; Fort Stewart/ The visited Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Pete Vosbury (‘69, DB) says Hunter, Ga.; and Fort Beach Campus. “There, I saw occasional conflicts did arise, but Wolters, Texas. This another flag burning,” he says. they were rare. Once, he observed laid the foundation for “I thought it was the American a student disrespect an Army Green e Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide flag at first, but as I got closer, I Beret, who had recently returned mbry-

Campus, which today saw that it was a group of veterans from the war. “He called him a baby r iddle Aeron operates online and at burning the North Vietnamese flag.” killer. The Army vet walked over more than 150 locations The experience solidified his deci- to the student and let him know across America and sion to transfer to Embry-Riddle in no uncertain terms that indeed, A abroad. Today, active- in 1972 and join the newly formed he was trained to kill, but that this utic

duty military and veterans Air Force ROTC Detachment 157. training was used to protect our A l u

make up 54 percent of Support for the armed forces country and his freedoms,” says niversity the total enrollment at was intrinsic at Embry-Riddle. Then- Vosbury, now a professor of aero- Embry-Riddle. university President Jack Hunt nautical science at Embry-Riddle. was a retired Navy commander; While the Avion student news- Archives retired Air Force Brig. Gen. William paper, founded and edited by Linda A student and instructor, circa 1970. Spruance was chairman of the Colgan (‘71, DB), voiced war-related

6 LIFT sPring 2015 ALUmnI.ERAU.EDU Not everyone believed in the war, especially in 1970, at the height of it,” she says. 40 Years of roTC Economic Driver The influx of veterans proved By the Numbers an economic positive for Embry-Riddle, which was 1972 struggling financially in the early Founding year of Embry-Riddle’s ROTC 1970s. Longtime professor program with the instal- Jim Cunningham, now retired, lation of Air Force Det. recalls President Hunt coming 157 at the Daytona Beach Campus. to the faculty in 1971 and ask- Today, Air Force, Army, ing for a personal loan so the Navy and Marine Corps university could make payroll. ROTC programs are offered at the Daytona Hunt went without a paycheck Beach Campus; for up to two years, and faculty and Air Force and Army detachments Embry-Riddle’s Daytona salaries were frozen for three, Beach Campus, circa are located at 1965-1970s, sported Cunningham says. Embry-Riddle’s Prescott an academic complex Recruiters actively pursued Campus in Arizona. building (opened in 1969), veterans to boost the balance top right, and rehabilitated 3,000+ U.S. Naval Air Station sheets, because those tuition Number of buildings, bottom and dollars were guaranteed by the commissioned officers left. The main parking GI Bill. Embry-Riddle offered since 1972 collectively lot was an abandoned produced by Embry- runway once used for veterans a head start on their Riddle’s ROTC programs. F6F Hellcat and F4U education through course equiv- Corsair fighters takeoff alency exams and credits given 1,600+ and landing exercises. Number of officers for flight credentials and mainte- commissioned through nance experience. Det. 157. dissent, it didn’t disrespect the service members, By 1974, approximately 50 percent of the univer- Source: Embry-Riddle ROTC Colgan says. “We never would have treated veter- sity’s 205 graduates were veterans, says Ladesic, ans coming home in the way that kids did at other who returned to Embry-Riddle to teach in the 1970s schools.” But that didn’t mean that all of the students and is today associate dean of industry relations and supported the war. “Although we were not a campus outreach for the College of Engineering. “There’s that was demonstrating, calling veterans names and no doubt in my mind that the appeal Embry-Riddle burning flags or administration buildings, there was an had, and still has to the GI, was to the mutual benefit active discussion going on about the Vietnam Conflict. of them and the university.”

Mystery History Contest

Are you an embry-riddle history buff? Name an Then here’s your chance to show us your stuff! Enter our Mystery History Contest Embry-Riddle alumnus who for a chance to win a copy of Forever an Eagle, a pictorial history of Embry-Riddle is a flying ace. Aeronautical University.

to Win: Search the University Archives online ( www.erau.edu/about/archives) for the correct answer. Send your response to the email address on the archives webpage and your name will be entered into a random drawing held after May 15.

tim Glover (’80, DB) of Florida is the winner of the fall 2014 Mystery History Contest. Glover correctly identified the first name of Embry-Riddle’s co-founder (T. Higbee Embry): Talton.

Embry-Riddle’s Archives department is dedicated to preserving the memories and artifacts belonging to the university’s rich history.

Explore Embry-Riddle’s past at www.erau.edu/about/archives.

LIFT spring 2015 aLumNI.ERau.EDu 7 flight path

Love at First Flight Bill Borgsmiller (’97, PC) lives, breathes, works and plays aviation—and always has

By BoB Cooper

ill Borgsmiller (’97, PC) is a young president and CEO whose air-services firm will soon add its 100th employee—but as young Billy in Red Bluff, Calif., he was just a kid who loved flying. near Sacramento—a five-hour round-trip drive in Strike that: he still is. “The joke in my house,” his old Jeep pickup twice a week. He’d also already he says, “is that my passion is flying, my earned a commercial pilot’s license with 750 hours hobby is flying and my other wife is flying.” of flight time before arriving in Prescott, and knew When he talks about his lifelong love affair with many planes inside and out. And it all started by

B Photos courtesy of Avi aviation you soon realize that an early start always happenstance. kept him several steps ahead. First flight in a small plane at age 4. First flight instruction at 7. First Teenage Grease Monkey part-time aviation job at 12. First solo flight at 16. “My dad is an orthopedist and one day a kid came Graduation from Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus in with a broken elbow, caused by a propeller kick- with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science ing back when he was rotating it. He agreed to fix A

after a mere two years, four months. And now, at the arm for free if that kid’s dad would hire me at tion 38, he’s one of America’s youngest CEOs of a home- the airport, because he knew I was in love with c grown aviation company. airplanes.” Thus began the unlikely partnership onsul By the time he entered Embry-Riddle, Borgsmiller between Mike Rust, who owned a small charter t A

had earned nearly a year’s worth of college credits and repair operation, and the airport kid, who spent n ts

as a high school senior attending Embry-Riddle’s a big chunk of his adolescence from ages 12 to 18 i nc. Worldwide Campus at McClellan Air Force Base fueling and fixing aircraft, and traveling with Rust in

8 LIFT SprING 2015 aLumnI.ERau.Edu Bill Borgsmiller (‘97, PC) was named one of Airport Business magazine’s 2013 Top 40 Under 40. He advises industry newcomers to accent quality over profits to achieve success.

his Twin Beech to air shows up and down the Seneca out of San Luis Obispo, Calif.—where he’s “He West Coast. lived ever since—to leave the Texaco job. [Borgsmiller] “I got to be his grease monkey while he “I kept the budget in check the first year by sleep- did air-show routines each summer,” says ing on a sofa bed in my office at the airport,” he wanted Borgsmiller. “On overnight trips I’d get my recalls. “You weren’t allowed to live at the airport, but to learn own hotel room, which I thought was really I sort of got around that rule because I was an on- cool. I’m lucky my dad allowed it; my mom call pilot and mechanic. It was efficient, and in fact, I everything thought I was way too young.” Throughout still do it sometimes, even though I’m married with and refused those years, he also worked in Rust’s shop two kids now.” Says Bob Picard (’98, PC), an Embry- and even managed a fixed base operator Riddle roommate who’s now a commercial pilot for to waste time. (FBO) at Red Bluff Municipal Airport. JetBlue: “He’s always had big goals and ate lots of It would be Accustomed to filling every minute, ramen noodles to get there, so I’m not at all surprised during his time at Embry-Riddle, Borgsmiller by his success.” impossible to overhauled aircraft engines part time at ACI has blossomed into a company that flies find anyone Arizona Air-Craftsman in Prescott and spent 11 jets; manages and maintains corporate fleets; and many weekends as a Coast Guard Reserve— operates two FBOs (full-service jet centers at the with a stronger yet still managed to graduate and earn San Luis Obispo and nearby Paso Robles airports). In work ethic.” Certified Flight Instructor and Certified Flight Borgsmiller’s words: “We fly, we fuel and we fix air- —Jesse Hustad (’98, PC),

Instructor Instrument, Multi-Engine Instructor, craft.” About one-third of his 96 employees are pilots CaPtain for skyWest and Single Engine Sea ratings in 28 months. and he’s hired numerous Embry-Riddle graduates for “He wanted to learn everything and refused staff positions and internships. to waste time,” recalls Jesse Hustad (’98, PC), a captain for SkyWest who has known Flying for Fun Borgsmiller since childhood. “It would be impossible Borgsmiller’s life may sound like all work and no play, to find anyone with a stronger work ethic.” but that’s only because those lines are so blurred. He Says Borgsmiller: “All of the flying and airport expe- earned a rotorcraft license so that one day he could rience before Embry-Riddle was a great seat-of-the- fly to work in a chopper; a seaplane license to land pants education, so I was a really street-smart pilot, in lakes and “go for a swim right out the door of the but not book-smart. I took some higher-level computer floatplane”; and a skydiving license for the “sense of classes at Embry-Riddle’s King Technology Center that freedom.” He’s made 650 jumps and admits to being really helped later on with my business, and courses “a bit of an adrenaline junkie.” like meteorology and accident investigation gave me That was evident when he and some friends at more of a theoretical knowledge base.” Embry-Riddle resurrected the skydiving club after it had been dormant for a while, found the old club’s A Successful Launch obsolete gear and hit the road. Not the skies—the After graduating, he flew for Sierra Pacific Industries, road. “I broke my leg parasailing behind a pickup truck,” served as a regional representative for Texaco Aviation he says, laughing now at the memory. “But that stunt and even did some bartending. In the middle of it was caught on video and aired on the old show Real all, he got Aviation Consultants Inc. (ACI) off the TV, so it paid for my $800 deductible to put the leg ground—at the age of 21. By the time he was 24, he back together. I’ve definitely matured since then, but had attracted enough business flying charters in a Piper I’m still willing to try new things.”

LIFT sPrinG 2015 aLumnI.ERau.Edu 9 Florida International University as a research test bed. Embry-Riddle students and faculty, in partnership with Teledyne Oil & Gas, a global business with offices in Daytona Beach, Fla., participated in NASA’s 19th Finding Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) event at Aquarius for 10 days in September. “It was the most amazing experience I’ve had at Embry-Riddle, so far,” says Carolyn Newton, who completed a Bachelor of Science in Human Factors at the Daytona Beach Campus in December. She and three other human factors students took turns observing operations at the Aquarius Mission Control Center in nearby Islamorada, as representatives from NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies coordinated the activities of four aquanauts, most of whom were training at the underwater facility for future space missions. “We NEEMO don’t always know how we can apply what we learn Embry-Riddle teams up with NASA to conduct in the classroom to the real world,” Newton says. research at world’s only undersea laboratory “Going to NEEMO opened our eyes to how we can use our degrees.” By Sara WithroW Newton was impressed by the mission operations team, those working in what will “hopefully become her dream job,” but NASA was equally enthused by he ocean floor and deep space may be Newton and her peers. “What we saw from Embry- two entirely different environments, but Assistant Professor Riddle was a group of students who were knowledge- according to astronaut and Embry-Riddle Jason Kring, left, front, able and technically proficient, and who were willing adjunct instructor Claudia Board member Nicole Stott (‘87, DB), there Ehringer Lucas, right, to literally ‘roll’ with the changing, fast-paced mission are lots of similarities. In fact, a key compo- front, and Teledyne environment,” says Bill Todd, NEEMO project manager nent of NASA’s astronaut training program Oil & Gas engineer for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Their Seth Grablow, second is Aquarius, the world’s only active under- from right, pose with work will help inform NASA in planning future sea and sea research laboratory. “Aquarius is like CORAL and the NEEMO space exploration missions.” our underwater space station,” Stott says. 19 aquanauts Jeremy The partnership benefited all involved, but mostly Hansen, Randy Bresnik, “NASA is there because it is the perfect Herve Stevenin and Andy the students, says Jason Kring, assistant profes- analog to space flight.” Mogensen. Also pictured sor of human factors and primary investigator for are Embry-Riddle students Submerged at a depth of roughly 62 feet in the Embry-Riddle’s NEEMO 19 project. “Students in T Austin Leach, Weylin Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off the coast MacCalla and Tyler Rice. aerospace engineering, mathematics, human fac- of Key Largo, the Aquarius habitat is operated by tors and commercial space operations programs got to see how a true NASA training mission is run,” he says. “Plus, many of them interacted directly with the astronauts on the crew. This was not a class exercise; this was real.”

NASA Connection That’s exactly the applied learning experience Stott, who trained at Aquarius in 2006 for her first mission to the International Space Station, envi- sioned when she first suggested Embry-Riddle team up with NASA at Aquarius. Leveraging her NASA connections and working with fellow Embry-Riddle Board member David Robertson and several professors, together they developed projects to integrate with NEEMO. A

Navy divers secure the Collaborative Oceanic Reliability s Analysis Lab (CORAL) to the ocean floor. Built by Embry-Riddle students, in partnership with Teledyne Oil & Gas, CORAL will be used by astronauts training at the Aquarius underwater habitat. It also represents the first controlled test of Teledyne Oil & Gas materials in an ocean environment. Photos courtesy of NA courtesy Photos

10 LiFT SPRING 2015 aLumni.erau.edu LIFT SPRING 2015 aLumnI.erau.edu 11 “It took a couple of years, but we finally discovered that the way to get us into Aquarius was to figure out how to self-fund it, pull together some cool ideas for initial research activities and just really and truly get our foot in the door; and I think that’s what we did with NEEMO 19,” Stott says. Robertson says hands-on experiences like NEEMO are impactful for students, and that’s why he supports them. “It’s the difference between our students and those from somewhere else. And, it’s a huge difference. They come out of here useful on day one, because of projects like these.”

Subsea Partner Partnering with Teledyne Oil & Gas (TOG), a company that produces sophisticated subsea extension cords and connectors for the oil and gas industry, made NEEMO 19 possible, says Glenn Greiner, associate professor and undergraduate program coordinator for Embry-Riddle’s Aerospace Engineering program at the Daytona ultraviolet degradation and encrustation results, will Beach Campus. Greiner made the initial inquiry to be collected and analyzed. TOG. “They were extremely interested in it,” he Clockwise from top: NASA views CORAL as a long-term tool to ben- Embry-Riddle Board says. “They contributed 50 percent of the cost.” members astronaut efit its astronaut training exercises. “Future missions Individual contributions from Stott, Robertson, Nicole Stott (‘87, DB), might include continued inspection, monitoring of Greiner and Embry-Riddle’s Ignite program for second from left, and material performance, removal or replacement of David Robertson, third undergraduate research paid the balance. from left, on the wet modular panels or installation of additional scien- porch of the Aquarius tific sensing equipment, as a part of the aquanauts’ habitat, were hands-on extra-vehicular activities,” Todd says. CORAL participants in NEEMO Not only did TOG contribute to the cost of par- 19; aquanauts manipulate ticipating in NEEMO, it also designed, equipped the connectors on one of Smart Business CORAL’s panels; Embry- and facilitated the construction of an undersea Riddle students Weylin TOG scientists Chet Piechowiak and J. Bradley research platform. Built over the summer by stu- MacCalla, front, right, and Hunter, who first conceived CORAL, see the project dents in Claudia Ehringer Lucas’ Engineering Austin Leach, left, front, as a success on multiple levels. While TOG’s labora- guide CORAL to the dock Fundamentals 101 class, the Collaborative Oceanic in Islamorada, Fla. tory simulates a variety of deep-sea stressors, this Reliability Analysis Lab (CORAL) includes samples is the first controlled test of materials in an actual of materials commonly used in TOG’s subsea ocean environment, Piechowiak says. But partnering electrical connectors. with Embry-Riddle is not only smart business; it’s “It really reinforced that I wanted to be here at ReseaRch about developing the next generation of scientists Embry-Riddle,” says Weylin MacCalla, a freshman Investment and engineers, he adds. who helped build CORAL. “I don’t think at another To get involved or con- “I think back on everything that I’ve built through- university it would have happened.” tribute to Embry-Riddle’s out my career, and it’s now retired and has been During NEEMO 19, Navy divers guided CORAL NEEMO 20 research replaced by new products,” Hunter explains. “But to the bottom of the ocean floor and the aquanauts projects, contact Chris Chet [Piechowiak] and I were talking the other day manipulated its removable panels and connectors. Lambert at christopher. and we said, ‘This might be the most important thing CORAL will remain in its subsea location for one year, [email protected] or we do—build the next group of doers for the world.’” at which time the materials data, including corrosion, 386-323-8827.

12 LIFT sPRInG 2015 aLumnI.erau.edu Eco-Dolphin passEs tEst at nEEMo Who says math is boring? Seven mathematics students and Hong Liu, associate professor for mathematics, traveled to Key Largo, Fla., in September to test and demonstrate the Eco-Dolphin autonomous underwater vehicle at Aquarius Reef Base. An incubator for mathematics and computing problems for undergraduate research, the tri-fleet of Eco-Dolphins allow students to test their ideas and algorithms through the positioning, navigation and communication of the autonomous vehicles, Liu says. “NEEMO 19 was a chance to get the students out of the classroom—to reduce the gap between book knowledge and practical application.” The goal for the Eco-Dolphin fleet is to provide surveillance service and data acquisition in near-shore water, such as the Indian River Lagoon in Florida and along the Key Largo coastline. Grant applications are pending to equip the Eco-Dolphins with hydro - phones to collect acoustic data, and biochemical sen- NEEMO 20 sors to measure salinity and Kring and Greiner believe Aquarius is a pollution. Eco-Dolphin may resource that can help facilitate the growth help answer pressing ques- of future industry leaders, and build Embry- tions regarding Florida’s Riddle’s reputation as a solutions provider. ailing east coast lagoon sys - Plans for NEEMO 20, tentatively scheduled for tem. It will collect data on summer 2015, are already in the works. TOG is sea grass coverage and dis - also onboard. The 2015 mission would include tribution, density of micro- the construction of a second CORAL platform algae bloom and manatee containing student and industry experiments; and sea turtle populations a pre-test of the platform’s deployment, with along 156 miles of waterway, support from Embry-Riddle’s scuba club and Liu says. Human Factors students; and integration of A team of mathematics Embry-Riddle’s Mobile Extreme Environment students expects to return Research Station lab with NASA/NEEMO mis- to Aquarius this summer sion operations. for NEEMO 20 to further The hope is that ultimately all departments test and demonstrate and colleges at Embry-Riddle would participate Eco-Dolphin’s navigation in Aquarius-related projects, including students algorithms and its cross- at the Prescott and Worldwide campuses, platform communication Kring says. “Almost any major at Embry-Riddle capabilities. NEEMO 19 A s is applicable to this.” Eco-Dolphin sponsors Stott and Robertson also see Embry-Riddle’s include the Embry-Riddle Top to bottom: Embry-Riddle’s Eco-Dolphin involvement growing. “We look forward to a team poses with the NEEMO 19 aquanauts; Honors and Ignite programs, point when we have students participate as div- students examine Eco-Dolphin’s wiring; and the Mathematics depart- ers or perhaps on the Aquarius in a truly Embry- Eco-Dolphin attracts a manatee during testing ment and Hydroplus Inc. in the Florida Keys.

Photos courtesy of NA courtesy Photos Riddle dedicated mission,” Stott says.

LIFT spRinG 2015 aLumnI.erau.edu 13 All SyStemS Embry-Riddle alumni play key roles in space exploration and the Gogrowing solar system economy By SArA WithroW And melAnie StAWicki AzAm illUStrAtion By BryAn chriStie deSiGn

14 LIFT SPRING 2015 aLumnI.erau.edu.erau.edu In the 1960s, space was the ﬁ nal frontier and reaching the moon was the apex of human achievement. Today, the solar system is a budding commercial market and crewed missions to Mars are just the next step forward, instead of a “giant leap for mankind.” Whether expanding knowledge and science, or developing new revenue streams, Embry-Riddle alumni are leading the efforts to advance this new wave of space exploration and industry.

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 15 Living and Conducting Research in Space U.S. Air Force Col. Terry Virts (‘97, WW) is in space now, conducting research at the ISS for Expedition 42/43. He will return to Earth in May. One of six alumni who are NASA astro- MAKING OUR nauts, Virts is slated to conduct spacewalks to prepare the ISS to receive crewed capsules in development. He will also work on some of the 240 experiments onboard the ISS, largely centered on answering key questions that will allow humans to travel to deep space and ultimately to Mars. This is not the fi rst time Virts, who is commanding Expedition 43, has visited the space station. In 2010, he participated in Space Shuttle Mission STS-130, during which he helped install and retrofi t two fi nal permanent modules for the build-out of the station. “It’s like riding a bike,” he says, of adjusting to space life, shortly after arriving in the MARKIn space and on Earth, Eagles lead and ISS on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Virts is not the only Embry-Riddle alum- support International Space Station research nus to have had a hand in assembling the orbiting research laboratory. Astronauts BY MELANIE STAWICKI AZAM

Embry-Riddle alumni are making their mark in the science and operation of the International Space Station (ISS), as well as in future space exploration. Whether Ashley Allman it’s researching, spacewalking, “spacetalking” or engineering the latest hardware for the ISS, Embry- Riddle alumni are hard at work ensuring the success of current and future missions—and paving the way for a new era in deep-space exploration.

Aaron Frith

16 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU PHOTOS COURTESY OF NASA most stressful 38 minutes of my life,” minutes 38 says. he stressful most the was “That minutes. for40 lost be would tions communica- meaning out, timed just had satellite the that acall was there and aspacewalk to do ISS the exited member acrew time the recalls He ful. NASA. at job of his says feeling,” Frith incredible an Center—what Space satellites to relay these signals. of scheduling the and ISS, the from to and center trol con- mission the leaving and entering lines voice and data all oversees Frith contractor, aNASA Martin, Lockheed by Employed Control. Mission NASA and ISS the between communications unbroken smooth, to ensure works Frith 10 years, past forthe Center Space Johnson at controller talk.”aground the As “talking continue astronauts the and control ground that to ensure job PC) (‘95, Frith’s it’s Aaron space, in working and walk,” the living “walking is Virts While Open CommunicationKeeping many of these missions. OffiDirector Center, oversaw Space Johnson at ce fl shuttle space Flight of the chief director, now ight former PC), (‘90, Knight Norman and missions; shuttle space previous during station the of tions por- constructed and delivered also WW) (‘95, Garan Ronald Col. and (‘91,WW) Burbank Dan Capt. WW), (‘95, Drew Alvin Col. member, Board Embry-Riddle an also is who (‘87, DB), Stott Nicole Frith, who earned a B.S. in Aeronautical Science Science Aeronautical in aB.S. earned who Frith, stress- be also can it work, his loves he Although fi“The Johnson at gate the through Idrove time rst ground to possible.” make it ground back- the in working happy be I’ll forme, happens never that if But of that. advantage take absolutely “I would someday. herself to to make it space hopes eventually sector, and space commercial the invaluable.” been has knowledge That process. design the of phase every in Embry-Riddle at Ilearned that skills engineering the “I’ve utilized Houston. in Systems Space Oceaneering at engineer EVA One a “I it,” love Allman, says ISS. forthe hardware engineering job dream her landed native Seattle the contractors, NASA and NASA with internships of fl four After forspace. apassion includes ight inspiring,” she recalls. incredibly was stop—it my heart made almost engines of the power the and were10 away “We miles Canaveral. fi the of watching tacle Cape from launch shuttle nal spec- the forget never will (‘13, PC) Allman Ashley Space for Engineering Mars.” and moon to the go fl nearly was it and mission awless. forthis preparing years three last the dedicated “We forme,” says. Frith emotional very 2014. ”It was 5, fi fl test rst Dec. on conducted successfully was ight Orion’s space. into deep astronauts to carry designed spacecraft newest NASA’s project, Orion forthe lead ground overall the also is Campus, Prescott the at Allman sees a lot of growth ahead, especially in especially ahead, of growth alot sees Allman love Allman’s alumni, Embry-Riddle many Like to us to allow ladder the is spacecraft Orion “This Terry Virts LIFT

SPRING 2015 Col. Terry Virtsarrives the launchandlifein http://bit.ly/1GXpimV http://bit.ly/1vbHvES at theInternational Space Station;and his impressionson WATCH

space. ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 17 Cutting Data Transmission Time Thomas and his team configured and began testing the ground equipment at McMurdo Station in Antarctica in November. It’s a critical component of the JPSS system, Thomas says, because it cuts the data latency period roughly in half. The polar- orbiting satellites complete one full Earth orbit every 101 minutes. Now, with McMurdo Station, data can THE BIG PIcTurE be transmitted approximately every 50 minutes. “This will help in tracking weather systems and in An alumnus supports eyes in the sky focused improving forecasts.” Home-based in Aurora, Colo., Thomas earned a on measuring global climate and weather B.S. in Engineering Physics at Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus. For the past eight years he’s worked By Sara WithroW on satellite ground systems for Raytheon, including the predecessor to JPSS-1, the Suomi National Polar- orbiting Partnership (S-NPP). S-NPP is renowned for a series of high-resolution composite images of Earth’s seasonal changes, some of which have been David Thomas (‘01, DB) has spent a lot of time compiled into a product known as the “Blue Marble at ground level so that the rest of us can see the 2012.” Over S-NPP’s projected five-year lifespan, it Earth from 512 miles above the planet’s surface. will capture and transmit information on more than 30 long-term climate and environmental datasets that NASA and NOAA have been tracking. The Senior It’s this continuity of data that’s so important, Systems Thomas says. “If there’s a break in those data sets, Engineer II and due to a problem with the ground station, then we’re ground station not allowing the researchers and scientists to see integration lead the full vision of what’s taking place.” for Raytheon has Equipped with the same sophisticated sensing travelled north instruments, JPSS-1 will initially supplement the of the Arctic S-NPP satellite, but will pick up the full workload once Circle and south its calibration and validation phase is complete. S-NPP to Antarctica, will then assume the role as JPSS-1’s backup. with Alaska and New Mexico Phase II thrown in for A replacement satellite for JPSS-1 is already in the good measure, design phase. JPSS-2 has a projected launch date to set up ground of 2022. According to Thomas, it’s critical to always equipment for have another satellite in the works. “Right now, we the next genera- have morning and evening orbits. If we don’t launch David Thomas tion of National new missions, we would lose the ability to take Oceanic and satellite images of North America in the afternoon, Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar orbiting for example, and ultimately, altogether,” he says. weather satellites. All of the JPSS satellite data is available to the These satellites will collect invaluable environ- public via NOAA’s electronic library, known by the mental and weather data to help experts see the acronym CLASS (Comprehensive Large Array- did you know? “big picture” of long-term global climate change and data Stewardship System). And, there’s a lot of The $195 billion satellite short-term weather conditions. Their data will be used it. “S-NPP generates 4.5 terabytes of data daily industry represents 60 to save lives from the destructive forces of extreme for use by NOAA, NASA and a broad scientific percent of global space weather events. community.” For perspective: 1 terabyte is equivalent revenues and 4 percent “The near-term goal is to improve the immediacy to 8,000 times more data than the human brain can of global telecommunica- of weather alerts; for example, in situations where a retain in a lifetime. tions revenues. tsunami, hurricane or tornado may threaten human Long term, all of that data from S-NPP and JPSS-1 SOURCE: StatE Of thE SatEllitE life and property,” Thomas says. and 2 may be used in climate and weather models indUStRy REpORt, thE taURi GROUp, SEptEmbER 2014. Thomas’ extensive groundwork is the foundation that will help humankind avert an environmental for more facts about for the next phase of the project: the launch of the catastrophe. While he’s seen the data, Thomas isn’t the burgeoning first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) space- making any predictions regarding the hot topic of space industry: craft, set for fiscal year 2017. Once operational, the global warming. “I have my opinions, but I’m not a alumni.erau.edu/space spacecraft’s five sensors will generate data, including technical expert,” he says. “I’m just proud of the fact ozone profiles, land and sea ice concentrations, water that we support all of this data. The conclusions will salinity and much more, Thomas says. speak for themselves.”

18 LIFT spring 2015 aLumnI.erau.edu Like the gold prospectors of the American West, Joe Landon (‘01, DB) and the company SUBORBITAL he works for, Planetary Resources, have identi- TRANSPORTATION fi ed precious metals and elements on unclaimed lands. “Hydrocarbons, organic compounds like water, iron, platinum and other metals; anything Oscar Garcia (’04, DB), chair- that you need, it’s there,” he says. man and CEO of InterFlight Global Corp., who also chairs the Standards Working Group as a Joe Landon The only problem: These valuable resources are up to 92 million member of the Federal Aviation miles from the Earth—on asteroids. But that doesn’t deter Landon, Administration’s Commercial who is vice president and chief fi nancial offi cer for Planetary Resources. Space Transportation Advisory He envisions a commercial space industry where resources are mined Committee, sees high-speed, and processed robotically and then transported by spacecraft to any point-to-point suborbital space- number of customers, also in orbit. “Now that we have advanced cra as the next evolution for air SPACE technologies, we can go out and expand the economic sphere of the transportation. “The air trans- Earth to include these resources,” he says. portation world as we know it Planetary Resources has identifi ed a top 10 list of near-Earth aster- revolves at below Mach 1. It takes oids for initial exploration and expects its fi rst exploratory mission to 36 hours to get ‘door to door’ from and to the farthest points on the launch in the next few years. But that’s just the start. There are tens globe,” he says. “I want to go from RUSH of thousands of near-Earth asteroids, and more being discovered each where we are today to point-today, which are located within an accessible one Earth-sun distance Joe Landon point transportation at around from the planet’s surface. Mach 10 speeds.” While a lot of exploratory work needs to be done before A strategic business and space (‘01, DB) is mining can begin, water, in the form of ice, will likely transportation industry be the focus of the fi rst mining consultant, Garcia says leading a new missions, Landon says. “Water the scalability of the is made of hydrogen and oxygen jet-rocket-jet business industry set on atoms, which we can split, and makes it lucrative then you have liquid hydrogen, or rocket from an investment mining asteroids fuel. This could change the economics of the standpoint. “When you satellite industry by making it possible to refuel your consider that almost satellite in space.” 3 billion passengers ew BY SARA globally this past year, if Engineering Start only 1 percent were to take advan- WITHROW tage of point-to-point suborbital With a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Embry-Riddle and an M.S. travel, you’d have roughly 30 mil- in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California, lion customers the rst year,” he Landon’s interests were fi rmly centered in development and design. says. “The volumes are there. This But while working for Boeing’s Space and Intelligence arm at the is what would open space to the epicenter of the emerging commercial space industry, he had an masses in a very meaningful way.” EDUCATING epiphany. “I saw this industry unfolding and I realized that while it Garcia is working with tech- FUTURE SPACE would need lots of engineers, what it would really need is leaders nologists, operators and investors ENTREPRENEURS and business people to help shape it.” to develop a proof of concept Embry-Riddle He switched his focus to business, earned a Master in Business commercial space vehicle within launched the nation’s Administration from Harvard Business School, and a few years later, the next 10 years. The fatal crash first Commercial Space joined forces with Eric Anderson, co-founder of Planetary Resources of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Operations degree in and Planetary Power, a renewable energy business. In 2012, Landon Two rocket in October 2014 was a setback, but not a “showstopper,” January 2014. The pro- added CEO for Planetary Power to his nameplate, as well. While Garcia says. “The bottom line is gram focuses on policy, he’s dedicated to both enterprises, the prospecting and eventual human space operations, human mining of asteroids represent the toughest challenges as well as the ight is dan- factors and planning biggest opportunities. gerous. ... elements of commer- “What fascinates me is the opportunity to do something that will [But] we cial and private space have a lasting impact on our civilization,” he says. have to operations. He forecasts a thriving industry, to include active asteroid mining, risk to http://daytona within the next 20 to 30 years. “Imagine taking a 3D printer to an iron achieve.” beach.erau.edu/ asteroid and printing out a space station.” It may sound far-fetched, degrees/bachelor/ but it’s certainly possible, he says. “All the technology to do this is commercial-space- within our reach. We never say it’s going to be easy, but it’s defi nitely operations worth doing.” Oscar Garcia

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 19 Alumni @Work

On Stage in the Air

Scott “Scooter” Yoak Yoak is admittedly living a pilot’s dream, traveling the country performing in air shows and (’08, DB) carves career demonstrations. This past October, he returned to his alma mater in Daytona Beach, Fla., to per- path in the skies form at Embry-Riddle’s Wings & Waves Air Show/ Homecoming Weekend. It was a sweet reunion for Yoak, who attended his first Wings & Waves Air Show in 2003, with his father, Bill Yoak, now deceased. “It was my fresh- By AndreiA U. Brown man year. We went as father and son and it was right down here on the beach in Daytona,” he recalls. “I anted: professional air show pilot” can remember the lineup. We got to go down in the isn’t a job announcement one typically pits and under the ramp, because my dad knew the finds online or in the local newspaper. performers. That’s where my spark was sparked. Here But one Embry-Riddle alumnus found at Embry-Riddle.” his way into the profession anyway. “It’s not something that you’re going Change in Plans to see in the job fair. It’s not a job that Yoak originally came to Embry-Riddle to play baseball. you can walk up to a booth and say, After soloing a P-51 Mustang his sophomore year, his ‘I want to be an air show pilot,’” says dreams of playing professional baseball faded and his Scott “Scooter” Yoak (‘08, DB), who desire to fly took off. flies a North American P-51 Mustang for a living. “It’s He earned a B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Wa lot of hard work, and it’s a lot of dedication.” Science and commercial and single engine ratings at

20 LIFT SPrinG 2015 aLumnI.ERau.Edu GivinG Back Despite the loss of the man who taught him everything he knows about flying, Scott Yoak’s Quick Silver performance team will soon have one less problem to worry about. “I’m working on being fully sponsored. It looks very promising for 2016,” he says. The sponsorship is just one step in the evolution of his business. Yoak also wants to increase his involvement in outreach to younger generations. Flying used to be more about himself and fueling his ego, he says, but now he wants to

give back to the aviation Scott ‘Scooter’ A Father’s Influence Yoak (‘08, DB), industry by inspiring future But it hasn’t been all blue above and far left, air show pilots. makes a living skies and tailwinds. Yoak “How are we going showing off the has had to endure two P-51 Mustang he to inspire them, if we very different struggles and his late father, don’t show them what Bill Yoak, left, in his career: coping with it’s able to do? It’s one constructed from his father’s battle with more than 200 thing to see this aircraft colon cancer, and keep- parts and projects. in a museum, but you Yoak is also deputy ing the airplane that they team chief for the don’t get to hear it, or built together opera- Black Diamond experience the vibrations Jet Team. tional, which can be an in the engine noise, the expensive enterprise. sights, sounds, smells “I lost him in March and even taste,” Yoak Embry-Riddle, then sought an aerobatic pilot’s license. 2013 to colon cancer. He fought it very bravely for says. “Air shows give The year he received his license, he was scheduled for five years; unfortunately he lost,” says Yoak, who you that, and I’m glad to 10-plus air shows. In 2014, he performed in 22 differ- started rebuilding the Mustang with his father at the be a part of it.” ent shows, his busiest season yet. In his downtime, age of 9. “He’s with us; he’s with this airplane.” The he serves as deputy team chief for the Black Diamond P-51 Mustang, known as “Quick Silver,” that they Jet Team. built together from more than 200 Mustang parts “Usually when you first start, you’ll get maybe and projects was originally constructed in 1945 as three or four air shows a year. It’s not about me, it’s a fighter plane for World War II. It is Yoak’s (and his about the airplane. People want to see it,” says Yoak. father’s) mission to honor American veterans through “A lot of it is going out there, doing your time, doing its performances. smaller shows, and maybe doing things that you don’t Yoak credits his father for his success in aviation. find exactly fun at the time.” “My dad gave me the opportunity to get where I His fellow Phi Delta Theta fraternity brother am today. Anybody can stroke a check and get one Joseph Marco (‘11, DB) says Yoak was determined to of these airplanes, but not everyone can take one succeed, even as a student at Embry-Riddle. “He’s of these airplanes and give you the stepping stones very knowledgeable and passionate about the things to go from flying a Cessna 172 to a P-51. My dad did that matter to him,” Marco says. “He sets a great that, and he did it at a very prescribed, deliberate example for the things that one can achieve with the pace. It was my father; he was the main, driving force

yoak yoak on wing: dean wingard right mindset and perseverance.” that got me to where I am,” he says.

LIFT SPRinG 2015 ALumnI.ERAu.EDu 21 GivinG To “This is our way of assisting EMBRY-RiDDLE those who have the same love and passion for aviation that we do and mentoring them on their way to a career in aviation.” —chick GreGG, co-chairMan of cJP’S charitaBle activitieS coMMittee

serve as role models for students following in their footsteps.” CJP and Legacy Foundation representatives together contributed $100,000 to fund four $25,000 Bob Hoover Presidential Scholarships. The scholarships were presented to students enrolled in flight programs at the Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses at an Oct. 23 event. The recipients were Dakota Foster, Robert Morgan, Achyut Nair and Bob Hoover with the scholarship recipients, Dakota Foster, Anna Anna Robinson. Robinson, Achyut Nair and “We’re very grateful to CJP and the Bob Hoover Robert Morgan. Foundation for these generous scholarships,” says Embry-Riddle President and CEO John P. Johnson. “All of these bright young people are high achievers who possess the talent, enthusiasm and determina- tion to excel in their future careers.” Giving a Lift CJP is made up of owner-pilots with a passion for flying, and especially flying Cessna Citations, says Chick Gregg, co-chairman of CJP’s Charitable Activities Committee. The scholarships will allow the to Future association to assist students with a talent for aviation, while building relationships with them and the university. “This is our way of assisting those who have the same love and passion for aviation that we Pilots do and mentoring them on their way to a career in aviation,” he says. CJP contributed $50,000 to fund two CJP Bob Citation Jet Pilots and the Bob Hoover Presidential Scholarships; and the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation contributed $50,000 to fund two Hoover Legacy Foundation award Bob Hoover Foundation Presidential Scholarships. For Nair, a junior at Embry-Riddle, the scholarship scholarships to four flight students and the opportunities it offers to interact with other pilots are “priceless.” “Mr. Hoover is an aviation legend and role model, so for me to be an ambassador on behalf of the Citation Jet Pilots Association for him, I am eternally By Melanie Stawicki azaM grateful,” echoes Foster, a sophomore. Morgan, a senior, says the scholarship alleviates n honor of renowned aviator Bob Hoover, the his financial stress and gives him a rare opportunity to Citation Jet Pilots (CJP) Owner Pilot Association connect with CJP members. and the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation are part- All of the scholarship recipients are studying to nering to award scholarships to Embry-Riddle become professional pilots. They were selected for flight students who share a powerful passion the award based on their academic excellence, lead- for flying. ership skills, service to others, work ethic, financial “Embry-Riddle University is the finest uni- need and a written essay demonstrating their com- versity involving aerospace,” says Bob Hoover. mitment to the aviation industry and leadership skills. “I have great hopes that these students will “This year will be life changing,” says Robinson, push the boundaries of aviation and aerospace a junior. “I hope one day to pay it forward, like Iknowledge to benefit our future generations and they have.” LABELLO DARYL

22 LIFT SPrinG 2015 gIvIngTo.erau.edu Safer SkieS

AheFirst-ever crashworthinessAd fellowship awarded to Prescott Campus graduate student

By Melanie Stawicki azaM

artnering to support research aimed at Behavioral and Safety Sciences department, Graduate student making the skies safer, the Robertson which includes the RSI, sees the partner- Raymond Gallardo, Family and the International Society of Air ship as an opportunity for Embry-Riddle to lead left, is the inaugural Safety Investigators (ISASI) have awarded in aviation safety research and increase its recipient of the ISASI- Robertson Fellowship. through the Robertson Safety Institute international recognition. Top and bottom, students (RSI) at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus “It gives us the ability to allow scholars to learn the intricacies of their first-ever ISASI-Robertson Fellowship focus on advancing the science and practice of accident investigation at the Robertson to graduate student Raymond Gallardo. safety, conducting complex field or laboratory Aircraft Accident The fellowship, made possible by initial experiments, and becoming the next generation Investigation Lab at the Prescott Campus. gifts from the Robertson family, and par- of aviation scientist-practitioners,” she says. ticipation by ISASI, allows graduate students to con- Established in 2012, RSI fosters and supports Pduct research on crashworthiness and air accident research in crashworthiness, crash survival and investigation while working with RSI. In addition other related safety initiatives in a field of study to receiving full tuition coverage, fellowship partici- pioneered by S. Harry Robertson. An emeritus pants have access to research and travel funding for trustee of Embry-Riddle, Robertson invented the approved projects. Robertson Crashworthy Fuel System. His avia- The fellowship was welcome news to Gallardo, tion safety research is preserved at the Prescott who was struggling financially to pursue his master’s Campus’s Aviation Safety and Security Archives. Giving Just degree in safety science. “Now that I have the sup- “Aircraft accident investigators must collect port of the fellowship, I am able to conduct multiple and store data so researchers and design engi- Got easier! research projects to support my graduate thesis,” neers can access that data in order to address the Giving to Embry- he says. cause of injuries and fatalities related to design,” Riddle is now on The newly formed partnership between the says Robertson. “[We] hope to promote and pro- Facebook! Just visit Robertson Family and ISASI, working through RSI, vide those capabilities through Embry-Riddle’s ER www.facebook.com/ t s E will help Embry-Riddle grow the program, enabling it Robertson Safety Institute and its fellowships.” GivingtoembryRiddle. w L

E to fund additional assistantships and fellowships, as Richard B. Stone, ISASI executive adviser and tth past president, says Robertson’s deep ties with

A well as provide needed research and development

: M dollars to advance aviation safety. ISASI made the organization eager to support his LAB Commenting on the partnership, ISASI President efforts. Robertson is a founding member of ISASI sh

RA Frank Del Gandio noted, “As the only organization and a recipient of its Jerome F. Lederer Award. ISASI h; C

A solely dedicated to the interests of the air safety represents more than 1,500 professional accident AD investigative community, ISASI is proud and hon- investigators from more than 70 countries and about n K O s ored to partner with the Robertson Family in creat- 145 industry-related corporate members. A

: J ing opportunities to further the field of crashworthy “Harry has been such a stalwart in ISASI since research and investigative safety development.” the founding of its first chapter that it was clear ISASI ALLARDO

G Erin Bowen, chair of Embry-Riddle Prescott’s should join in this fellowship effort,” says Stone.

LIFT SPRinG 2015 GIvInGTo.ERau.Edu 23 ALUMNI IN ACTION

Changing Lives, One Scarf at a Time

Alumnus co-founds lying combat missions over Afghanistan in 2011, U.S. Air Force Capt. Joseph Stenger (‘06, DB) was struck by the nonprofit to benefit Afghan futility of the U.S. effort to eradicate the Taliban’s entrenched socio-political and military infl uence. “You fl y enough com- widows and their families bat missions and you realize that the bombs you’re dropping have very limited lasting effects,” he says. Seeking greater understanding of the Afghan people, he and fellow Air Force offi cers Capt. Joshua Carroll, now a major in the Air Force Reserve, Capt. Jonathan Hudgins and BY SARA WITHROW Capt. Ryan Bodenheimer went shopping at the bazaar on base. “We wanted to engage the locals,” Stenger says. FMeandering through an assortment of handicrafts sold by residents of the neighboring villages, the foursome encountered a mother and son selling hand-beaded scarves sewn by Afghan widows. “Every widow has extra obstacles in life,” Stenger says. “But in Afghanistan it’s worse because the culture and Sharia [Islamic] law dictate that women can’t, or shouldn’t, work. They have no way to make an income. This woman and her son were providing employment for widows.”

24 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU Maj. Josh Carroll, Capt. Jonathan Hudgins, Capt. Ryan Bodenheimer and Capt. Joseph Stenger model handcrafted scarves along with an Afghan merchant. The four ofﬁ cers created a nonproﬁ t organization to promote and sell scarves like these to help support Afghan women.

a living, most widows end up sending their children to the streets of Kabul to sell wares,” Stenger says. The founders of Flying Scarfs on a “Recruited for $10 a day, they end up planting explo- mission in 2011 in sive devices or serving as lookouts, sometimes with- Afghanistan. out even knowing what they’re doing. We wanted to take that opportunity away from them [Taliban].”

International Effort Flying Scarfs also facilitates the sale of handicrafts made by women in Kenya and Haiti, primarily via private vendors, and has offered microloans for small Wearable Works of Art upstart businesses in these countries, as well. Inspired by the mother’s and son’s social con- Carroll says the vision for the nonprofi t is to be a science and courage, Stenger and his colleagues marketplace for handcrafted items made by women “The women we created Flying Scarfs, a nonprofi t organization to around the world. “Given our military training, we help are brave, market and sell these handcrafted scarves to people wanted to be able to go to countries affl icted by war all over the world. Within weeks of their meeting at (Afghanistan), natural disaster (Haiti-earthquake) and hardworking the bazaar, the offi cers had a business plan in hand, disease (Kenya-AIDS). These are places that other and tenacious. approval from their command and a website with an companies typically don’t go to; and therefore, it was online shopping portal. “We’re essentially a nonprofi t a great opportunity to help more people,” he explains. ... Once we distributor for their scarves,” Stenger says. “We were comfortable going into these austere envi- learned their Since 2011, Flying Scarfs has raised more than ronments and fi nding the artisans. That’s what we did story, there was $150,000 and benefi ted 100-plus Afghan women and in Afghanistan, Haiti and then Kenya.” their families. Flying Scarfs returns 100 percent of Now an F-35 instructor pilot stationed at Luke Air no going back.” the net profi ts from each sale to the Afghan cohort. Force Base in Arizona, Stenger says Flying Scarfs’ Their Afghan partner, Mulier Fateh (a pseudonym founding purpose of empowering Afghan widows —CAPT. JOSEPH STENGER used to protect her identity), CEO of the handicraft is particularly meaningful to him, perhaps because (‘06, DB) business, says each woman receives 250 Afs, the he witnessed their plight fi rsthand. “The women equivalent of $5, for every scarf sold. Fateh offers we help are brave, hardworking and tenacious. They free sewing classes as well, teaching the ladies how make these scarves by hand, in private, in a building to create wearable works of art. “This class is very with no heat, all while under threat of reprisal from safe and effective for Afghan women, especially for the Taliban, who believes that—even though they are widows. It empowers women to make scarves and their family’s sole breadwinners—they should not earn money to feed their family, and send their kids to hold a job. Once we learned their story, there was no school,” she says. “In the class, a woman can make going back. Their fi ght was and is our fi ght—not just 10 scarves with beads in 20 days.” because we see them as the linchpin to the United In addition to providing employment opportuni- States’ success, but because we both fi ght for the ties, Flying Scarfs works to diminish the number of same cause—freedom for all. Helping these women child soldiers for the Taliban. “With no way to make has been the most rewarding thing I’ve done.”

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 25 alumni news n SO DER n An E Message froM the aluMni association K

s I write this letter for the spring edition of Lift, my thoughts go back to 50 years ago this April, when Embry-Riddle moved from Miami to its new home in Daytona Beach, Fla. In the process of transitioning what was then Embry-Riddle Institute into a fully accredited university, newly elected President Jack Hunt spearheaded the move, which would become known as “Operation Bootstrap.” Here we are 50 years later, with close to 120,000 alumni and nearly 32,000 students taking classes in Daytona Beach, Fla., Prescott, Ariz., and at more than 150 Worldwide Campus locations in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. aOur alumni have paved the road for up-and-coming graduates and the pedigree of

our achievements is humbling. Embry-Riddle alumni know that there is no room for n error; and because of them missions have been completed, lives have been saved, DERSO countries have been defended and our reputation for educating and training the best n An E

continues to reach well beyond the dreams of our founders. K The success of our alumni is depicted in national Please contact me rankings and surveys. Statistical data from the most with your suggestions recent Embry-Riddle Alumni Survey show that 96.6 percent of graduates from the Daytona Beach and Prescott at william.thompson campuses obtained employment in their field of study or @erau.edu. continued their education, within one year of graduation. Embry-Riddle Prescott and Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach rank in the top 65 out of over 1,000 universities for 20-year return on investment; and the vast majority of our alumni state in a recent graduation survey that—YES, they would do it all over again. A common denominator among Eagle graduates is the passion we share for the aviation/aerospace industry and the respect and gratitude we have for our alma mater. A testimony to this fact: More than 700 alumni attended our 2014 homecoming activities, which included the Wings & Waves and Wings Out West air shows. Please take time to celebrate your achievements; remember the “E” from ERAU and stay “Engaged” with your alma mater; and let us know about your accomplishments.

Thank you for being Forever an Eagle, Bill Thompson (’87, PC) Executive Director

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Looking for an Embry-Riddle Alumni event in your area? We’ve got an app for that—and so much more, and it’s free! Search for “Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University” in the App Store (DUBLABS version) and select the “Alumni Association” tab after downloading.

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26 LIFT SpRiNG 2015 ALUmnI.ERAU.EDU OctoberWest Alumni Homecoming Weekend and Wings Out West Air Show Prescott, Ariz. • 2014 Ken Anderson ssey ssey A A vid M vid M A A d d Alumni celebrate homecoming Embry-Riddle style

Alumni Homecoming

Weekend and Wings & r A es Waves Air Show c Daytona Beach, Fla. • 2014 cos Pinto cos Pinto ssey r A A n M vid M A A l d A r A es c cos Pinto cos Pinto r y wu A lr A v n M A hi- l c A

LIFT Spring 2015 ALumnI.ErAu.Edu 27 Chancellor Inducts Three Prescott Alumni into Hall of Fame The names of three accomplished Prescott Campus graduates were added to the elite Prescott Chancellor’s Alumni

Steve Rutland, Tanya Barnett Whitney, Jeremy J. Leader and Frederick Reitz Hall of Fame on Oct. 3, 2014, during a special ceremony held in conjunction with the annual OctoberWest celebration. Prescott Campus Chancellor Frank Ayers Embry-Riddle Honors established the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012 to recognize the significant contri- Noteworthy Alumni at butions of outstanding alumni to their profession, their community, the Prescott Awards Reception Campus and the university.

rofessional pilot and flight instructor Steve Rutland (‘88, WW) has taught countless 2014 InduCTees men and women from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces during his 32-year tenure Larry C. Gregg (’87, at Fort Rucker, Ala. But he says he was humbled to be the recipient of Embry-Riddle’s PC) has been in the 2014 Alumni Achievement Award. aviation insurance P“I feel very privileged and honored to accept this award, in recognition of so many other field for 20 years flight instructors who have done so much,” says Rutland, who has a master’s degree in and is currently the aeronautical science. senior vice president Rutland was one of six prominent Embry-Riddle alumni honored at one of two alumni and owner/partner awards receptions held in October at the Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses. Recognizing of Falcon Insurance the achievements of alumni in their professions and/or their service to the university, their Agency in California. community and the aviation/aerospace industry, the ceremonies were held in conjunction U.S. Air Force Col. with homecoming activities at Daytona Beach, Fla., and at Prescott, Ariz. Larry C. Gregg In addition to Rutland, the 2014 honorees were: Janet W. Grondin Mark G. LaPole (‘84, PC) received the Alumni Philanthropy Award. LaPole is the (’89, PC) is chief director of advanced imaging at Ball Corporation and a longtime, dedicated supporter of of the spacelift Embry-Riddle. Range and network Jeremy J. Leader (‘11, WW) was honored with the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. system division, Leader is the defense fellow for U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller. assigned to the U.S. Air Force Capt. Ian R. Osterreicher (‘07, DB) was awarded the space and Missile Military Achievement Award. An A-10 Thunderbolt II instructor pilot, flight systems Center at examiner and chief of the Standardization and Evaluation Program of Los Angeles Air the 74th Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Osterreicher Force Base. received the Distinguished Flying Cross in 2014 for saving the lives of Air National Guard U.S. Air Force Col. 60 soldiers. Because he was unable to attend either of the ceremonies, Brig. Gen. D. Scott Janet W. Grondin his award was presented by retired Air Force Col. Chuck Graf (‘75, DB) Wenke (’85, PC) on Oct. 24 at the ROTC Det. 157 Dining In event in Daytona Beach. is commander of Frederick Reitz (‘03, ‘11, WW), who leads Embry-Riddle’s South the 176th Wing, Florida/Fort Lauderdale Alumni Network, received the Alumni Alaska Air national Service Award. Reitz is an aviation security compliance specialist for Guard at Joint Col. Chuck Graf, Broward County Aviation and owns and operates Safe Sky Inc., in Base elmendorf- left, and Capt. Ian Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Richardson, Alaska. Osterreicher Retired Army Master Sgt. Tanya Barnett Whitney (‘00, WW) was recognized with the Alumni Volunteer Award. Whitney retired from the U.S. Army following For more on each award recipient, visit: dA

28 years of service. Since her retirement, she has been an active volunteer in her community. ryl http://alumni.erau. To read more extensive biographies of the award recipients, visit: http://alumni.erau. lA

edu/2014HOF. Air National Guard Brig. bello edu/2014Awards. Gen. D. Scott Wenke

28 LIFT Spring 2015 ALumnI.ErAu.Edu Unique Connection Aeronautical Engineering Class of 1984 celebrates its 30-year reunion at the Prescott Campus

BY SARA WITHROW AND EDMUND ODARTEY (‘04, ‘10, DB)

t was 1979 when the Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees pro- Left, the 1984 Class of Aeronautical Engineering at the Prescott Campus (April 1984), left to right, front: Vincent Chin, Jay ‘J.P.’ Morgan, Ken Rosson, Cheryl (Mueller) Giuffre, posed the then 1-year-old Prescott Campus add an Aeronautical Constantine Kioussis; back, Mark LaPole, Margaret ‘Peg’ (McIlvaine) Billson, Tom Trask Engineering (AE) program. Fortunately, the campus had the and Paul Anneler. Right, 30 years later (2014), assuming positions similar to their 1984 ideal candidate to lead the program already employed as a photo are, front: Chin, Morgan, Rosson, Giuffre; and back: LaPole, Billson and Trask. fl ight instructor: Tracy Doryland, a Navy veteran with an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. After working feverishly over the summer to prepare, Doryland In addition to staying connected with each other, the ‘84 AE welcomed the program’s fi rst students in the fall of 1980. Class at Prescott is a stalwart supporter of their alma mater. At I Fast-forward four years. It’s April 1984, and nine students are their 20-year reunion the group contributed a $100,000 class gift celebrating the completion of their bachelor’s degrees—becoming to name the wind tunnel laboratory in honor of their beloved pro- the Prescott Campus’s fi rst-ever AE graduating class. Calling their fessor Tracy Doryland. Doryland retired in 2005 and was named Embry-Riddle experience “foundational,” seven of these charter professor emeritus. graduates haven’t missed a 10-year reunion since that day, and “Tracy Doryland is one special man to me,” says Rosson, vice 2014 was no exception. The group, which includes Vincent Chin, commander for the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard. Jay “J.P.” Morgan, Col. Ken Rosson, Cheryl (Mueller) Giuffre, Mark “My best memory of my time here is of the professors working LaPole, Margaret “Peg” (McIlvaine) Billson and Lt. Gen. Tom Trask, with us, getting us through. That’s the reason we graduated.” came together last fall at the annual OctoberWest Alumni Weekend Trask, who is vice commander of Headquarters U.S. Special to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation. Operations Command in Washington, D.C., agrees. “To get back together with this crowd is real special, “It was all of us together, the faculty and us, trying because they’re family and we all grew up together,” to fi gure out the next step. I think that challenge is says LaPole, director of Imaging at Ball Corporation. unique and one that most people don’t get in their “And these old buildings, as much as they keep want- college experience.” ing to scrape them down, just like homes, they have WATCH “When I look back 30 years now, I’m honored by spirits in them, and I feel it when I’m here.” what we helped create,” adds Giuffre, a senior engi- “There is something magical about this campus,” Alumni recall their neer and structural analyst for The Boeing Company. echoes Morgan, deputy program executive offi cer favorite memories at “It was like this river, and we were all going along for acquisition for the Department of Defense in Fort the 2014 Alumni the same path. And, when we graduated, we all Awards Reception in Meade, Md. “Why return? Because it’s tradition; it’s somehow positively infl uenced the world. That just Daytona Beach. about connections and family. I love these people; doesn’t happen at any university. There had to be http://bit.ly/1BxCqg6

2014: KEN ANDERSON 2014: it’s that simple.” something special to make that happen.”

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 29 Shooting for the Moon Alumnus’ research could support Inset and above, Axel García Burgos (‘14, DB) conducted research aboard a NASA reduced future greenhouse on lunar surface gravity aircraft last summer. built him the connections necessary for the next. While he was interning at Kennedy Space Center, astronaut and Embry-Riddle Board member Nicole Stott (‘87, DB) shared some BY ALAN MARCOS PINTO CESAR inspiring words with García Burgos. “She told me that everyone, if they have true potential, could n summer 2014, on one of NASA’s reduced grav- reach their goals, no matter what their ethnicity and ity aircraft, Axel García Burgos (‘14, DB) had just economic situation. That statement has been my one shot at testing a pump built to water plants motto to keep moving forward when daily situations under lunar gravity. He designed a control system get rough.” to start the pump, camera and sensors when it García Burgos’ passion for math and experi- detected the appropriate lunar gravity during the ence at NASA pointed him toward an aerospace parabolic fl ight. engineering degree at Embry-Riddle. A Motivating Like many of his projects conducted at Undergraduates in Science and Technology scholar- Embry-Riddle and during internships at NASA, ship through NASA and many smaller scholarships the test was a success. The prototype habitat funded his studies. was the fi rst step to growing oxygen-producing Unwilling to limit his education to a solely Iplants on the moon to support future space explora- American perspective, García Burgos visited France tion. Two habitats of this design are set to launch on with Embry-Riddle’s Study Abroad program. He spent different spacecraft starting in December 2015 for a semester working on an engineering competition further testing. for Dassault Aviation, communicating solely in French. García Burgos presented the results at the 2014 He now considers himself trilingual. International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Toronto; His fi nal semester was spent off campus doing he was one of only a few undergraduate students a co-op at NASA Goddard, where he tested CubeSat invited to present there. He also received a fi nalist integration of a new particle detector that will mea- award at the 2013 IAC in Beijing for developing better sure radiation in low Earth orbit. He plans to use the models to forecast space weather, which are now research in a Ph.D. dissertation and become a space WATCH used at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He aims systems engineer. Alex García Burgos to solve problems like these throughout his career: With eyes still on space, García Burgos tries to tests in zero gravity a “Ultimately what I want is to work as a scientist on visit his hometown of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, system that could water the International Space Station doing experiments,” every year for Christmas. He laments that his child- plants on the moon. he says. “I want to live in space.” hood friends and family fi nd it diffi cult to relate to his http://bit.ly/1vbJjh3 García Burgos’ education has been marked by life as an engineer. He says his old friends didn’t go early starts. The Puerto Rico native entered a boarding to college; they started families and are working to school far from home at age 14. The intense program support them. He hopes more will follow his path. had 12-hour days and allowed him to pursue his “I would like to see a Puerto Rico with young intellec- passion for mathematics, but it meant adjusting to tual people who, after getting enough experience and independence at a young age. “I called home on the obtaining outstanding levels of education, will help fi rst night of my boarding school and I started crying. create jobs, research laboratories, new technologies I wanted my mom to come and get me,” he recalls. and educational programs that will ameliorate our He braved the challenges, though, and by age 16, economy, reduce crime, and retain the talent from he was interning at NASA. Each subsequent internship leaving the island.”

30 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU CAREER CORNER

MARK YOUR CALENDAR 2015 Industry and Save the Date Career Expos: THURSDAY, OCT. 1 OctoberWest Homecoming Weekend and Prescott, Ariz. Wings Out West Air Show WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7 PRESCOTT, ARIZ. Daytona Beach, Fla.

THURSDAY, OCT. 1 FRIDAY, OCT. 2 SATURDAY, OCT. 3 For additional information and job resources: Industry/Career Expo 26th Annual Alumni Golf Wings Out West Air Show careerservices.erau.edu. eagleNIGHT Tournament Fly-in, Static Display and Alumni Awards Pancake Breakfast Lifelong Learning Fireworks ERAU PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION COURSES

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Aviation Safety Management Alumni Homecoming Weekend and Fly-in April 2–3, 2015, Systems DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. San Diego, Calif. May 12–14, 2015, Daytona Beach, Fla. OSHA 30-Hour & Aviation WEDNESDAY, OCT. 7 FRIDAY, OCT. 9 SATURDAY, OCT. 10 Ground Safety Airport Wildlife Hazard Industry/Career Expo Alumni Return Fly-in April 13–17, 2015, Management to Classes Breakfast & Daytona Beach, Fla. June 3–5, 2015, THURSDAY, OCT. 8 Campus Tours Static Display Dallas, Texas Aviation Safety Program eagleNIGHT and Hangar Party Management A3IR Summer Research Alumni Awards Fly-in Arrivals April 20–24, 2015, Institute Daytona Beach, Fla. June 22–26, 2015, Prescott, Ariz. Aircraft Accident Investigation April 27–May 1, 2015, NextGen 101 Seminar Register today: alumni.erau.edu/homecoming2015 Daytona Beach, Fla. June 23–24, 2015, Washington, D.C. Advanced Aircraft Accident Investigation To register and for additional May 4–8, 2015, information visit http://proed. Prescott, Ariz. erau.edu.

EVENTS ON THE RADAR

For the most up-to-date list of MAY 11 JUNE 6 SEPT. 12 events, visit alumni.erau.edu/ Daytona Beach Worldwide Worldwide events. Campus Commencement, Campus Commencement, Campus Commencement, Daytona Beach, Fla. Pensacola, Fla. Seattle, Wash. APRIL 19–26 MAY 16 JUNE 15–21 OCT. 3 Sun ‘n Fun 2015, Worldwide International Paris Air Show, Worldwide Lakeland, Fla. Campus Commencement, Paris, France Campus Commencement, MAY 2 Seeheim, Germany JULY 20–26 Dallas, Texas Prescott Campus Commencement, MAY 31 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2015, Prescott, Ariz. Worldwide Oshkosh, Wis. NOV. 17–19 Worldwide National Business Aviation Campus Commencement, SEPT. 5 Campus Commencement, Association Business Aviation San Diego, Calif. Worldwide Daytona Beach, Fla. Convention & Exhibition, Campus Commencement, Las Vegas, Nev. Ford Island (Oahu), Hawaii

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 31 Armando Alvear (‘83, WW) retired Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi CLASS in 2012 as frontline manager from (‘89, DB) was appointed minister the Federal Aviation Administration of education for the United Arab (FAA) and lives in South Texas. Emirates. NOTES Alvear was an air traffi c controller for 37 years for the FAA, U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense. 1990s He taught at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, and for John Cox (‘90, PC) is the manager Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus of Ernest A. Love Field, the City of To share your Class Notes with Lift and your fellow at Naval Air Station Kingsville and Prescott’s municipal airport. Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. alumni, join Embry-Riddle’s online community Alvin Jackson (‘90, DB) was elected at alumni.erau.edu/join today; or submit your Bill Polise (‘87, DB) is a captain for by Republican delegates to fi ll a Delta Air Lines on the 737NG, based vacancy in the Utah State Senate announcements through email to eralumni@ in New York. Hired by Delta in 1997, representing District 14. Jackson is erau.edu. For guidelines, visit alumni.erau.edu/ he was a fl ight engineer and fi rst offi - principal of his own consulting fi rm. He cer on the B-727 and fl ew 14 years is also a member of the Embry-Riddle notes_guidelines. on the 767ER as a fi rst offi cer. President’s Advisory Board. Polise retired in 2011 as a lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Air Force. He John W. Stroud (‘90, WW) was served eight years active duty as a elected senior vice commander-in- C-141 pilot in the 6th Military Airlift chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Career News Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Ralph Squadron, based at McGuire Air (VFW) at the VFW’s 114th National O. Irwin (‘77, ‘87, WW) retired for Force Base, N.J. In 1995, he joined Convention in Louisville, Ky. the second time in September 2012, the Air Force Reserve in the 76th Air 1970s after being recalled to active duty for Refueling Squadron. He lives in New Aaron Williams (‘92, WW) was two years as a pilot assigned to U.S. Jersey with his wife, Pam, and has named director of Webster University’s Robert Stambovsky (‘72, DB; ‘85, Air Force Special Operations Command three children. Space Coast/Merritt Island, Fla. WW) retired from NASA’s Armstrong at Hurlburt Field, Fla. His fi rst retire- location. Flight Research Center at Edwards ment was nearly 20 years ago. Kathi Durst (‘88, WW) is now Air Force Base in 1998. A Marine com- chief pilot for American Airlines Mark Kopczak (‘93, DB) is vice bat Vietnam veteran, he returned to at Dallas/Fort Worth International president of network planning at active duty after 9/11 with the Marine 1980s Airport. She is the fi rst female pilot Spirit Airlines in Miramar, Fla. He is Air Reserve in 2001, and retired from based at American’s Dallas/Fort pictured with one of Spirit’s Airbus active duty in 2004. He and his wife, Agkarajit Phanomvan Na Ayudhya Worth hub to hold this position. A319 aircraft. Donna, reside in Lancaster, Calif. (‘82, WW) was appointed Honorary He is an active fl ight instructor, jet air Consul for the Republic of the Jim Anderson (‘89, PC) was Bongani Maseko (‘93, DB) is man- show pilot, air show announcer, senior Philippines in upper northern Thailand, elected treasurer of the Society aging director of the Airports Company adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle and based in the city of Chiangmai. of Aviation and Flight Educators South Africa. fl ight line coordinator for the Miramar Previously, he spent 26 years in various Board of Directors. He is senior vice Air Show. roles at Thai Airways International president of Starr Aviation, a global Doug Taylor (‘93, PC) was recently PCL. He encourages alumni visiting aviation insurance fi rm. upgraded to Airbus 320 captain at upper northern Thailand to contact him Delta Air Lines. via LinkedIn for advice and assistance. Jeremy Pisell (‘94, DB) was promoted to manager of FlightSafety International’s Learning Center in Houston, Texas.

Jennifer Whitlow (‘94, DB) is senior vice president of communications at Lockheed Martin. Agkarajit Phanomvan Robert Stambovsky Na Ayudhya Armando Alvear Jennifer Whitlow Kathi Durst CAMPUS LEGEND MC Miami Campus DB Daytona Beach, Fla. PC Prescott, Ariz. WW Worldwide Campus BFTS No. 5 British Flying Training School Alvin Jackson John W. Stroud Aaron Williams Jeremy Pisell Mark Kopczak

32 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU Jason Shrier (‘99, DB) was promoted 2,500 hours in the U-2, 3,900 hours in to general manager of Helicopter the T-38 and 700 hours in the MC-12. Specialties Inc. (HSI), in Janesville, He recently joined the Citation Jet Wis. He has been HSI director of main- Pilots Owner Pilot Association as its tenance since 2007. executive director. Maj. Gen. Gerald Evans Anthony Rock Michael Fey Troy Kohler James Sowell (‘99, DB) is the CEO Andrea (Stuart) Sossa (’03, DB) is of Planetary Science Corporation, the assistant branch manager and located in Titusville, Fla. corporate underwriter at Phoenix Aviation Managers Inc., in Renton, Wash. In 2014, she was nominated 2000s by the president/CEO and selected by Munich Re to participate in the Capt. Mike Bender Glenn Carter Bryan Shillito Jason Shrier Kim Ellis (‘00, WW) is manager of Munich Re Scholarship Programme. In Riverside Municipal Airport, operated June, she completed the three-month Maj. Gen. Anthony Rock (‘95, WW) Airlift Traffi c Control Flight at Dover Air by the City of Riverside, Calif. international insurance management was promoted to three-star general in Force Base. program, held in Munich, Germany. the U.S. Air Force on June 19, 2014. Lt. Zachary Smith (‘01, DB) is a Sossa has worked in the aviation Capt. Mike Bender (‘98, WW), a fi refi ghter with the Syracuse Fire insurance fi eld for 10 years. She is Retired U.S. Air Force Col. M. Jay FedEx Express employee, was pre- Department in New York. married to fellow Embry-Riddle alum- Mitchell (‘96, WW) was appointed sented the Air Line Pilots Association nus Juan Sossa (’04, DB), who is secretary of the New Mexico International’s highest safety honor, U.S. Army Col. Derrin Williams a fi rst offi cer for Envoy Air (formally Department of Homeland Security the Air Safety Award. An Anchorage- (‘01, WW) took command of the American Eagle). and Emergency Management. based MD-11 pilot, he was commended Defense Logistics Agency–Central in for his dedication to investigating and a June 20, 2014, ceremony at MacDill Col. William L. Thigpen (‘03, WW) Alison Smalling (‘96, ‘98, DB), preventing airline accidents. Air Force Base, Fla. was named commander of the 316th Embry-Riddle’s sports informa- Cavalry Brigade at Fort Benning, Ga. tion director at the Daytona Beach Glenn Carter (‘98, ‘06, DB) was Sean Rogers (‘01, ‘02, DB) was Campus, was named the 2013–14 named dean of the School of Aviation named director of the Ph.D. Program Josh Hunter (‘04, DB) was hired to Sun Conference Sports Information Science at Daniel Webster College in in Management at New Mexico State launch the corporate fl ight depart- Director of the Year in the inaugural Nashua, N.H. University. Rogers is also an assistant ment for a manufacturing company in presentation for the award. professor of human resource manage- Indianapolis, Ind. Natasha Parks (‘98, DB) was ment at the university. Retired Navy Intelligence Offi cer awarded the NASA Exceptional Public Allison Odyssey (‘04, DB) is now Tom Chapman (‘97, WW) was named Achievement Medal in August 2014, Wess Gates (‘02, DB) is the founder NewSpace Global’s chief operating director of the Cyber Operations Group for her work on NASA systems devel- of Edtric Corporation, a development o f fi c e r . at EdgeWave. opment and vehicle assembly building company focusing on unmanned operations. aircraft systems and based in Signal Rick Wielebski (‘04, PC) is general Michael Fey (‘97, DB) was appointed Hill, Calif. manager of Landmark Aviation’s president and chief operating offi cer of Bryan Shillito (‘98, PC) was named Boeing Field/King County International Blue Coat Systems Inc. managing director of safety programs Kerry McGovern (‘02, WW) is a Airport near Seattle, Wash. for Alaska Air Group. He leads Air regional sales manager for Securaplane Troy Kohler (‘97, WW) is vice presi- Group’s cross-organizational safety Technologies in Miami, Fla. Heidi Stenger (‘05, WW) is the dent of MacAulay-Brown Inc. He leads programs. administrative offi cer at Dickinson the company’s operations and logistics Russell “Buck” Myers (‘02, WW) Municipal Airport in Dickinson, N.D. division. Cmdr. Andrew Eriks (‘99, WW) is was named avionics supervisor for the commander of Coast Guard Air Station/ service department at Phoenix, Ariz.- Rashaad Wilford (‘05, ‘10, WW) U.S. Air Force Capt. Matthew K. Sector Field Offi ce Port Angeles. based Cutter Aviation. is a mechanical engineering supervi- Morrison (‘97, PC) was awarded sor at General Atomics Aeronautical the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gerald Evans (‘99, WW) is a supervi- Greg Richman (‘02, DB) is president Systems Inc. in San Diego, Calif. Combat “V” for outstanding heroism sory immigration services offi cer with of the new private jet charter com- and selfl ess devotion to duty while the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration pany Skyjet. He will lead Skyjet from Jared Allison (‘06, DB) and Ru in aerial fl ight as an F-16CJ pilot. On Services in Tampa, Fla. He is also the company’s headquarters in New Selvadurai (‘08, DB) created March 22, 2003, near Baghdad, Iraq, an adjunct instructor for Everglades York City. WingStats LLC, a career tracking sys- Morrison exhibited outstanding air- University. He and his wife, Jelena tem for pilots. manship and dedication to his mission Evans, and three children reside in the Branka Subotic (‘02, DB) is the under extremely hazardous conditions. Tampa area. executive director of Borealis, the Sulaiman Zainul Abidin (‘07, DB) European alliance of air navigation was appointed chief operating offi - Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Visco (‘97, Capt. W. Patrick Gordon (‘99, WW) service providers. cer of Pioneer Aerodrome Services, WW) retired from the Air Force on was appointed acting president and which manages Myanmar’s Yangon July 1, 2014. He served more than CEO of Royal Jet, an Abu Dhabi- Lt. Col. Jon “Huggy” Huggins (‘03, International Airport and Naypyitaw 12 years as an instructor-pilot. Most based luxury fl ight services company. WW) retired from the U.S. Air Force International Airport. recently, he commanded the 512th on Sept. 26, 2014. He amassed over

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 33 David Hewitt (‘07, WW) was named serves as interim general manager Justin D. Martin (’14, DB) is a at the Daytona Beach Campus and chairman of the Air Charter Safety of Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Premier general engineer at the NextGen Tori is the business manager for the Foundation. Jet Center. Brackin was formerly NAS Lifecycle Integration Offi ce. As Athletics department at the Daytona director of the General Mills fl ight a student, Martin was a volunteer Beach Campus. Lt. Col. John “Slick” Baum (‘99, department. at the NextGen Florida Test Bed at ‘08, WW) is a former U.S. Air Force Embry-Riddle and president of the Thunderbird pilot (left wing, No. 2), Carl Newman (‘11, WW) is the Daytona Beach Campus Student performing for the 2009 and 2010 CEO of the Jackson Municipal Airport Alumni Association. show seasons. Previously, he was Authority in Jackson, Miss. Marriages/ an F-16 instructor at the Air Force Fighter Weapons School. He is pres- Beau Tatsumura (‘11, WW) was Engagements ently stationed at the Pentagon. appointed director of line maintenance at Hawaiian Airlines. Family News Ryan Hartman (‘09, WW) was 2000s named president and CEO of Insitu Jeffrey Haas (‘13, DB) is a technical Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of support engineer for BellowsTech, Michael Duailibi (‘05, ‘13, WW) The Boeing Company. Hartman most an Ormond Beach, Fla.-based 1980s married Jennifer Boyd on May 31, recently served as senior vice presi- manufacturer. 2014. Duailibi is an A32 captain for dent, Insitu Programs. James “Jim” Bartlett (‘82, DB) is Spirit Airlines and Boyd is a fl ight Julia Bury (‘14, DB) is a fi rst offi cer a 767 First Offi cer at Delta Air Lines. attendant for Spirit Airlines. Chris S. Perry (‘09, DB) was elected at Cape Air in Hyannis, Mass. His daughter, Emily, 14, recently president and CEO of the Kentucky started attending high school. They Christopher Schreiber (‘08, DB) Association of Electric Cooperatives. Bill Highfi ll (‘14, DB) joined Spirit reside in New Hampshire. married Angeline Ranieri (‘10, DB) Aeronautics in Columbus, Ohio, as on June 11, 2014, in Key West, Fla. Maria Baugh-Horstman (‘10, WW) director of maintenance. Christopher is an air traffi c controller an engineer for Barrios Technology, at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood was honored with NASA’s Silver Sgt. David L. Keirns (‘14, WW) 2000s International Airport and Angeline Snoopy Award, recognizing her out- was selected as the 2014 Air Force works for Saab Sensis as a strategy standing work in standardizing the Times Airman of the Year. He is the Gregory Migirditch Jr. (‘03, ‘04, and product management specialist. Soyuz cargo return process. aircraft maintenance unit lead pro- DB) and his wife, Kristy, welcomed duction superintendent at the 725th a daughter, Samantha Avery, into Drew Casey (‘09, DB) married Lisa Villegas (‘10, DB) joined the Air Mobility Squadron at Naval the world on Dec. 20, 2013. Gregory Jie Fan on Sept. 14, 2013, in CBS Channel 11 weather team in Station Rota, Spain. works as an air traffi c controller Betterton, Md. Drew and Jie live in Dallas/Fort Worth. Previously, she was at the Memphis Air Route Traffi c Beijing, China, where Drew teaches a meteorologist for KRGV in the Rio Will Livsey (‘14, WW) was hired by Control Center. The family resides English and composition at Renmin Grande Valley and KLFY in Lafayette, La. the Memphis-Shelby County Airport in Collierville, Tenn. University. The wedding party Authority as senior manager of air included alumni Scott Leonard Neil Brackin (‘11, WW) is vice service research and development. Mikhael Ponso (‘03, ‘12, DB) and (‘08, DB), in a Flash Gordon T-shirt, president of fl ight operations at Fargo Roberta Borges Vieira celebrated and Thomas Dalton (‘08, DB), in Jet Center in Fargo, N.D. He also the birth of their son, Ben Vieira a Superman T-shirt. Ponso, on July 8, 2014. Ponso is a former chief test pilot, instructor Brian Walters (‘09, PC) is a pilot/check pilot at Embry-Riddle and lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and associate director of Embry-Riddle’s a MH-60R helicopter pilot. He Eagle Flight Research Center. Since and Kathleen Franco were mar- November 2012, he has been a fi rst ried on Nov. 30, 2013; they live in offi cer for Spirit Airlines, based in San Diego, Calif.

David Hewitt Kim Ellis Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Jonathan Rupprecht (‘09, WW) and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their Other fi rst child, Anna Grace, on March 28, 2014. Jonathan is a criminal defense Ralph Kling (‘43, MC) met Prescott attorney at the Law Offi ces of Roger Campus fl ight instructors Jeff Premo Juan and Andrea P. Foley. The family resides in Palm (‘07, PC) and Kyle Buse (‘12, WW) at Bob Hoover with Lt. Col. Jon Huggins Sossa Rick Wielebski Beach, Fla. AirShow San Diego at Gillespie Field, held June 7–8, 2014. After graduating Chris Carta (‘13, DB) and his wife, from Embry-Riddle, Kling fl ew a P-47 Tori, welcomed their daughter, Thunderbolt fi ghter during World War Camdyn, on July 25, 2014. Chris is II. On his 68th mission, he was shot manager of admissions and market- down on Sept. 21, 1944, and sent to

Sgt. James Bartlett and ing for Embry-Riddle’s Aviation POW Camp Stalag Luft III. Rashaad Wilford Neil Brackin David L. Keirns daughter Emily Maintenance Science department

34 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU Alumni and Sigma Chi brothers Steve Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Whitlock (’77, DB) and wife Carol, Campus Athletics program inducted David Fraser (’77, DB), Tony seven new members into its Hall of Kralich (’77, DB), Greg Maltese Fame on Feb. 6. The honorees are: (’77, DB), John “Jay” Smullen III Embry-Riddle Trustee Emeritus Jay (’77, DB), Phil Wheeler (’84, DB) Adams Jr. (HonDoc ’08), distin- and wife Greta, Mike Rossbach guished member category; former Samantha Mikhael Ponso Brian Walters and Migirditch and family Kathleen Franco (’76, DB, Non-degree), Don baseball coaches Greg and Todd Haddox Jr. (’76, ’78, DB) and wife Guilliams, coaches category; former Melanie, and Kathy Ford, wife of men’s basketball tri-captains, AKA the late Morris Ford (’75, DB), “The Foundation,” Owen Busch raised $17,000 for Ride Allegheny, an (’94, DB), Tom Fagley (’94, DB) annual bicycle ride that supports the and Jeff Moore (’94, DB), athlete needs of wounded American service category; and women’s track and members at Walter Reed National ﬁ eld and cross country stand- Anna Rupprecht Michael and Jennifer Duailibi Military Medical Center in Bethesda, out Beth McCubbin (’09, DB), Md. Email steve@whitlockonline. athlete category. org to participate in the 2015 ride. For more: http://bit.ly/1yrgTWG Jonathan Faught (‘07, DB), Will Brazelton (‘05, DB; ‘11, WW), Cmdr. Joseph McMonigle (‘93, Josh Odom (‘05, DB) and Scott DB) and Cmdr. Brian Ferguson North pose at the Grand Canyon

(‘93, DB) stand in front of a Navy in October (see photo). The four Christopher Schreiber and Angeline Ranieri F-5 Tiger adversary aircraft from friends embarked on a cross-country Chris, Tori and Camdyn Carta Fighter Squadron Composite 111 motorcycle adventure on Oct. 4 to (VFC-111) in Key West, Fla. (see remember their friend and fellow photo). McMonigle and Ferguson alumnus Benjamin Glattstein, who were commanding officers of Navy died in an aircraft accident in 2010. adversary squadrons during the An Embry-Riddle scholarship fund same time period. McMonigle com- has been organized in his memory, manded VFC-111 in Key West, while The Ben Glattstein Upset Recovery Ferguson commanded VFC-13 in Training Scholarship. givingto.erau. Fallon, Nev. edu/glattstein/

Drew Casey, Jie Fan and wedding party

EAGLE AUTHORS

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Duddy ON THE (‘83, DB) authored Invasion Stripes: The Wartime Diary of Captain Robert Uhrig, USAAF and the Dawn of American Military Airlift, published BOOKSHELF in 2013. Frank J. Donohue Jr. (‘85, DB) authored Stephen Carbone (‘97, ‘01, WW) authored his ﬁ rst School and Schooled: A Flight Plan for Life and novel, Jet Blast, published September 2014 by Tate an All-American Story of Hard Work and Success, Publishing. Carbone is a former aircraft mainte- published August 2014. Donohue is a FedEx A300 nance investigator for major commercial accidents captain. He and his wife, Bernadette, reside in for the National Transportation Safety Board and a Virginia Beach, Va., and have two grown children. current airworthiness technical specialist for the Margo Kelly (‘91, PC) authored Who R U Federal Aviation Administration. “Though Jet Blast Really?, published by Merit Press in September is ﬁ ctional, it is based on my experiences in acci- 2014, a novel based on events experienced by dent investigation and techniques the NTSB uses Kelly’s daughter, who narrowly escaped being during its investigations,” he says. abducted by a man she met in an online role- Hassan M. Eltaher (‘80, DB) authored Aviation playing game. Kelly is a veteran public speaker & Maritime Security Intelligence, published by and resides in Idaho. E & W Communications in 2012. Thomas Field, assistant professor of Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Harvey global studies at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott (‘80, ‘81, ‘87, WW) authored The Whole Truth, Campus, authored From Development to Stephen Carbone The Tainted Prosecution of an American Fighter Dictatorship: Bolivia and the Alliance for Progress Pilot, published in 2013; and Cocoa, Florida, A in the Kennedy Era, published in June 2014, by History, published in 2014. Cornell University Press.

LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU 35 Valdeta Mehanja (‘13, DB) and Nancy Snyder, a student at the Daytona Beach Campus, took ﬁ rst place in the collegiate division at the women’s Air Race Classic, held June 16–21, 2014. The duo also ﬁ nished second overall out of 50 teams. The Prescott team, Marlene Wessel (‘13, PC), an Embry-Riddle Worldwide Campus student, and Kristin Garcia (‘14, PC), placed

Joseph McMonigle and Brian Ferguson Beth McCubbin Jay Adams Jr. fourth in the collegiate category and 10th overall.

Charles-Philippe Blondeau (‘14, DB) earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is now pursuing an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Embry-Riddle. Blondeau is also president of the Daytona Beach Campus’s Crew Club, which com- petes at the varsity level against other universities. The club cel- Owen Busch, Tom Fagley and Jeff Moore Ralph Kling, Jeff Premo and Kyle Buse ebrates the 25th anniversary of its founding this spring. Alumni interested in getting involved with the Crew Club and/or helping it celebrate its 25th anniversary should email [email protected].

Hitesh Patel (‘12, ‘14, DB), Christopher Hockley (’06, ’10, DB), Christopher Kennedy (’12, Kristin Garcia and Marlene Wessel Greg and Todd Guilliams Ian Monson-Gere ‘14, DB), Tim Zuercher (’12, DB) and student Gene Gamble were members of an Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Campus team that ﬁ nished fourth overall at the Maritime RobotX Challenge, held in Singapore in October. The event was co-sponsored by the Ofﬁ ce of Naval Research and the Association Jonathan Faught, Will Brazelton, Josh Odom and for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Scott North Charles-Philippe Blondeau and the Embry-Riddle Crew Club International Foundation. Embry- Riddle was one of only three U.S. schools selected to participate in the contest. The team received $11,000 in prize money, and multiple awards and accolades.

Ian, the son of Mecca Monson- Gere, associate campus director of the Worldwide Campus in Kaneohe, Hawaii, peruses the class notes in the Fall 2014 issue of Embry-Riddle’s Lift magazine.

The Embry-Riddle Maritime RobotX team in Singapore

36 LIFT SPRING 2015 ALUMNI.ERAU.EDU Constance D. Hunter Mark A. Goldstein (‘86, WW) BOARD OF VISITORS MEMBER; Oct. 31, 2014 In Memoriam LEGACY SOCIETY DONOR Sidney M. Allagood (‘89, WW) Feb. 23, 2014 Jan. 12, 2014 1940s A former member of Embry-Riddle’s Board of Michael R. Stizza (‘89, DB) Visitors at the Daytona Beach Campus and Legacy Sir Jack Hayward (’41, BFTS) Sept. 26, 2014 Society donor, Constance D. Hunter was a dedi- Jan. 13, 2015 cated supporter of Embry-Riddle and its mission. “She believed in Embry-Riddle very strongly,” Ernest A. Sinnes (‘43, MC) 1990s says Bob Rockett, dean emeritus, who retired in March 14, 2014 2010 after more than 35 years at the university and personally knew Bradley D. Cook (‘90, DB) Constance. “She loved what Embry-Riddle stood for.” David J. Smith (‘45, BFTS) May 29, 2014 Serving on the Board of Visitors from 2002–2011, Constance Jan. 2, 2015 was fond of Embry-Riddle’s traditional and conservative values, its Paul C. Ekholm (‘90, WW) strong emphasis on education and the fact that the university valued May 24, 2013 women students, says Rockett. A young woman in England during 1950s WWII, she also appreciated that the university trained many British Gerald K. Carman (‘93, WW) pilots for the war effort. Robert W. Anderson (‘51, MC) Aug. 7, 2014 Constance established a scholarship for women in her name Sept. 10, 2014 and another scholarship that honors the memory of her husband, John E. Luke (‘94, DB) Paul B. Hunter, who passed away in 1980. The Constance D. Hunter James L. Kington (‘58, MC) Aug. 14, 2014 Scholarship for Women, established in 2006, benefits Daytona Feb. 25, 2014 Beach Campus female students with financial need; while the Paul Gale E. Reining (‘94, WW) Benwood Hunter Memorial Scholarship, created in 1987, is awarded Louis F. Boynton (‘59, MC) June 12, 2014 to engineering students, regardless of gender. April 14, 2014 “Mr. Hunter was an intellectual property attorney and he very much believed in technology and moving the world forward, and 2000s Mrs. Hunter was a very independent, strong-willed woman who 1960s emphatically believed in education for women,” says Pam Clifton, Marianne Postell (‘00, WW) one of the directors of the Hunter Foundation, whose office is in Antonio Bolet (‘62, MC) Nov. 14, 2013 Ormond Beach, Fla. April 30, 2014 Upon her death, Constance bequeathed a $1 million gift to the Charles P. Cash (‘02, WW) two endowed scholarships at Embry-Riddle. “The scholarships are a Raymond S. Cayuso (‘67, DB) April 26, 2014 wonderful testament to her life,” says Chris Lambert, Embry-Riddle’s July 21, 2014 senior executive director of development. “Generations of students Tony J. Diotalevi (‘02, WW) will be touched by her generosity and her passion for education.” 1970s Oct. 15, 2013 Paul D. Toft (‘02, WW) Katherine C. Schwikert Waidmann (‘02, DB) Andrew Potaczala (‘70, DB) July 31, 2013 Nov. 25, 2014 Nov. 11, 2014 Gerald M. Fleming (‘03, WW) Former women’s soccer scholar-athlete Katherine Ned R. Akens (‘72, DB) June 3, 2014 “Kate” C. (Schwikert) Waidmann (‘02, DB) of Delray Oct. 29, 2014 Beach, Fla., didn’t give up without a fight. For two Philip R. Jacobs (‘05, WW) and a half years she valiantly fought invasive cancer. Capt. Richard J. Henkel (‘78, WW) Nov. 08, 2014 “She was an inspiring model of a loyal, positive, June 14, 2014 and determined person facing her challenges. Kate Heather N. Bain (‘06, PC) was the ultimate fighter,” says Embry-Riddle Head Dec. 2, 2014 Women’s Soccer Coach Samantha Bohon. 1980s Waidmann played for the Eagles and Head Coach Richard D. French (‘07, WW) Dan Blank in 1999 and 2000. A fixture in the Eagles’ Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. March 23, 2014 starting lineup for two seasons, she earned first team Roy L. Jones (‘83, PC) All-Conference honors in 2000 and graduated from Oct. 24, 2014 Adedoyin E.B. Adewumi Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus with a bach- (‘10, ‘14, DB) elor’s degree in aeronautical science. Howard Z. Nuzum Jr. (‘83, DB) Dec. 21, 2014 Originally from Troy, Mich., Waidmann was July 31, 2014 diagnosed with cancer in September of 2012. Despite Rommel C. Beckles (‘11, DB) aggressive surgery and treatment, the cancer returned. She died at Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Aug. 5, 2014 the age of 35. Samuel S. Mumaw (‘85, WW) “We are heartbroken with Kate’s passing, but I’m confident her Aug. 25, 2014 legacy with ERAU women’s soccer will live on,” says Bohon.

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