Contents

Sports

Alumni

Classnotes

Editor's Page

Philanthropy

The celebration of the 125^th anniversary of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association has fostered renewed pride in our alumni and their achievements. Consequently, Virginia Tech Magazine decided to focus on those alumni of greatest distinction throughout the history of the university, beginning when we first opened our doors in 1872 as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC).

The task was daunting when work commenced nearly a year ago. The magazine sought input from alumni, from the various colleges, and from a group of former and current Virginia Tech employees. Magazine staff members combed years of archival records. Throughout the process, the search focused on those alumni who had

• risen to senior positions in government, including military service;
• achieved distinction for personal or professional accomplishments in any field or for contributions of enduring significance or value to society;
• committed heroic acts; or
• achieved celebrity for personal acts, performances, artistic endeavors, or ongoing professional status.

What we uncovered was an amazing range of accomplishments by Virginia Tech alumni. From inventing materials revolutionary in their time to founding giant corporations, from sacrificing their own lives in saving others to breaking racial barriers, Virginia Tech alumni have made their mark, not just on the university and not just on the nation, but also on the world.

The first list we developed included more than 350 names. That list was culled to nearly 200 and then to the 100 included in this article. We know we surely have missed discovering some truly outstanding alumni, and we know that selecting such a list is a subjective process. Everyone will not agree with our final selections, but we hope everyone will agree that the names and achievements that follow make us all proud of the role our university played in shaping the lives of these people. Perhaps their singular accomplishments will spur all of us to reach for higher goals.

Education

Julian Ashby Burruss (civil engineering 1898) was the first Tech alumnus to become president of his alma mater. He served 26 years, longer than any other president in school history. Through his efforts, women were admitted to Virginia Tech, and the military requirement was reduced from four to two years. He was also the first president of the Normal and Industrial School for Women (now James Madison University) in Harrisonburg, Va. Each campus has a Burruss Hall that honors his memory.

Edwin Broun Fred (M.S. agriculture '07) was president of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. During his 13-year tenure, enrollment tripled, the faculty nearly doubled, the annual operating budget quadrupled, and the university had its biggest building boom in campus history. In 1947, he received the Medal of Merit for his part in the field of biological warfare. At the time, the medal was the highest honor awarded civilians for non-combatant service.

Edwin D. Harrison (M.S. mechanical engineering '48) was president of Georgia Tech.

J. Wade Gilley (civil engineering '61; M.S. '64; Ph.D. '66) is president of the University of Tennessee and a former president of Marshall University, Bluefield State College, Wytheville Community College, and Reynolds Community College. He also served as secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Mahmoud M'd Abu Quadais (M.S. education administration '93; Ph.D. '94) and a colleague founded the Hashemite University in Jordan. Named for the Jordanian king's family, the university began holding classes in 1995. The first class graduated in 1999. Quadais was the first dean of student affairs.

J. R. Hardesty (engineering 1900*) designed "Uncle Sam's Strong Box," the U.S. bullion depository in Fort Knox, Ken.

J. Ambler Johnston (mechanical engineering '04) used someone else's idea for quadrangles and Hokie Stone for Virginia Tech buildings to design some of the basics that are the foundations of Tech's current style. He also designed Virginia's State Office Building in Richmond. Johnston and Douglas Southall Freeman purchased many of the Civil War battlefields around Richmond, which later were given to the National Park Service. Two things bear his name: Virginia Tech's largest residence hall and a fungus, cylindrochytridium Johnstonii, which was discovered on his estate.

Earl Swensson (architecture '52; M.S. '53), founder and chairman of Earl Swensson Associates, designed several famous landmarks in Nashville: Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, the largest non-gambling hotel/convention center in the world; Wildhorse Saloon; and the BellSouth Tower, Tennessee's tallest building.

Harper Dean (horticulture '04), a special writer for Country Gentleman and Saturday Evening Post, achieved fame in the field of journalism. In 1922, his story "The Reverend Meddler" in Country Gentleman was made into the movie Go Straight.

Walter J. Biggs Jr. ('06) was a nationally known illustrator for Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, House & Garden, and other magazines. His status as one of the nation's foremost illustrators was firmly established with his 1963 election into the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame.

Charlie L. Byrd (business administration '46*) was an internationally famous, classically trained jazz guitar virtuoso who recorded over 100 albums and helped introduce the bossa nova to the United States. His records included the million-seller "Jazz Samba" and the Grammy-nominated "Brazilian Soul." He also wrote scores for films and music for stage productions and made several international trips as a goodwill ambassador for the State Department.

Homer Hickam (industrial and systems engineering '64) wrote Rocket Boys, Back to the Moon, and The Coalwood Way. The film October Sky is based on Rocket Boys.

Sharyn E. McCrumb (M.A. English '85) has written over 15 novels that explore culture, especially Appalachian culture, and has won numerous awards for her books, including a Kentucky Colonel honorary title. Several of her novels have made the New York Times best seller list, and she is the only three-time winner of the Agatha Award. Her books are required reading at over 25 universities and high schools nationwide.

C. Hunter Carpenter (agricultural engineering '02; graduate student '03-04, '05-06) was the first Virginia Tech player elected to the National Football Hall of Fame. He played fullback on the 1899 and 1900 teams and halfback on the 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1905 teams, serving as captain in 1902. In 1904, he went to the University of North Carolina for a year of law study and played on the UNC football team.

Chi-Tung Sidney Chen (M.S. agriculture and applied economics '29) was a star athlete in China. He distinguished himself in China as the national titleholder of high and low hurdles, established a record in the Far Eastern Olympics, was the chief pitcher for the Shanghai baseball team, played center on China's basketball team in the Far Eastern Olympics, and served as captain of the Chinese track team in the

Carroll Dale (vocational and industrial education '64) was Tech's first All-American football player. As a professional, he won one NFL championship and two Super Bowl rings. He was elected to the Pro Bowl three consecutive years1969, 1970, and 1971 and has been inducted into four halls of fame.

Frank Beamer (distributive education '69), head football coach at Tech, directed his players through an undefeated season in 1999 and on to the national championship playoff in the Sugar Bowl, where the Hokies lost to Florida State. During the 1999-2000 season, he received eight Coach of the Year honors and was named the Big East Conference Coach of the Year for the third time.

Bruce Smith (general arts and sciences '85*), now an end with the Washington Redskins, played 14 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He played in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII and, except for 1992, was elected to the Pro Bowl from 1988 to 1999.

Vernell "Bimbo" Coles (housing, interior design, and resource management '90*) was Tech's first student athlete to participate in the Olympics, playing point guard with the U.S. basketball team in South Korea. He is the all-time leading scorer in the Metro Conference with 2,484 points.

Claude A. Swanson (1877*) was governor of Virginia from 1906-10. He also spent 12 years in the House of Representatives and 23 years in the U.S. Senate. He was Secretary of the Navy under President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the time of his death. He was never defeated at the polls in a primary or general election.

William E. Dodd (M.S. general science 1898) was U.S. ambassador to Germany. He disapproved of the Nazis and resigned his post. His article "Germany Shocked Me" appeared in a 1938 issue of The Nation.

Earl J. Shiflet (animal science '40) was Virginia's first ever secretary of education under Gov. Linwood Holton and was secretary of commerce and resources under Gov. Mills Godwin.

Thomas W. Moss Jr. (building construction '50) was Speaker of the House of Delegates in the Virginia General Assembly.

S. Vance Wilkins Jr. (industrial engineering '57) was the first Republican to become Speaker of Virginia's House of Delegates.

Richard T. Crowder (agricultural economics '60; M.S. '62) was a senior executive of The Pillsbury Company who became undersecretary of agriculture during the Bush administration.

Timothy Fields Jr. (industrial engineering '70) is assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and head of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. He is the only EPA official to win the prestigious Presidential Rank Award four times. The highest civilian service award available to government employees, it recognizes outstanding leadership of programs that have produced concrete, long-term benefits.

Catherine O. Woteki (M.S. human nutrition and foods '71; Ph.D. '72) is undersecretary for food safety in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Charles N. McBryde (M.S. 1892), son of VAMC President John McLaren McBryde and the first student to receive a graduate degree at Virginia Tech, was one of the discoverers of a serum for the prevention of hog cholera. The serum effected savings of untold millions of dollars. It was prepared and sold by numerous large commercial firms and was used all over the world.

John R. Eoff Jr. (applied chemistry '04) contributed more to the then-modern knowledge of winemaking than anyone since Pasteur.

Arthur Rosenfeld (horticulture '04; M.S. '05) acquired an international reputation as an authority on the production of sugar cane and revolutionized methods of raising sugar cane. He held the record for being Tech's youngest graduate, at the age of 17, for many years.

Thomas K. Wolfe (general agriculture '14; M.S. '14) wrote 32 volumes and 200 articles dealing with such topics as soils, fertilizers, and plant breeding. He developed several new strands of wheat and potatoes that yielded more production per acre. He co-authored with another alumnus the textbook Production of Field Crops, which was used in 80 percent of agricultural and mechanical colleges in the United States and Europe.

Wilson B. Bell (biology '34; M.S. '35; Ph.D.'52) co-developed a new vaccine to protect calves against bovine leptospirosis, which had cost livestock raisers throughout the country thousands of dollars daily.

William Alphonso Murrill (three degrees: agriculture, mechanics, and science 1886), known as "Mr. Mushroom," was a world-renowned botanist and author. His book on fungi varieties was used as a reference in nearly every country in the world. He collected over 75,000 plant specimens, 1,700 of them new to science. He received a gold medal from the Holland Society of New York for distinguished service in the science of mycology.

Charles O. Handley Jr. (biology '44) was a renowned scientist, author, and teacher who worked for the Smithsonian for 53 years. As curator of mammals at the National Museum of Natural History, he was generally regarded as the world's foremost expert on Latin American bats. In recognition of his work, several animal species were named for him: a hummingbird, long-tongued bat, mouse possum, pygmy mouse, and wingless bat fly, among others.

Mitchell A. Byrd (forestry and wildlife '49; M.S. '49; Ph.D. fisheries and wildlife '54) heads the Chesapeake Bay Bald Eagle Recovery Team, keeping tabs on peregrine falcons all over the East Coast. He is credited with the return of the falcon and the bald eagle to the mid-Atlantic area.

Gary Norman (M.S. fisheries and wildlife '80) was awarded the National Wild Turkey Federation's Henry Mosby Award, one of the highest honors a wildlife biologist can receive, for his key role in restoring wild turkeys in Virginia. The estimated population of turkeys in Virginia climbed from approximately 51,000 to 130,000 birds in the 14 years he has worked with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

William E. Wine (mechanical engineering '04; M.E. '05) perfected and patented numerous laborsaving devices for railroad work while employed by the Atlantic Coast Line Railway. Later, he became manager of Wine Railway Appliance Co. He was the first alumnus to serve as rector of Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors. The university's William E. Wine Award for faculty achievement is named for him.

Edward H. Cahill (engineering mechanics '09*) designed the first mapping camera ever used from an airplane in America, becoming a pioneer in the design of uniquely American instruments for photogrammetic mapping. His pioneer camera was first taken aloft in 1915. He was a vice president of Brock and Weymouth in Philadelphia, and his designs, which were developed by Norman and Arthus Brock, became known as the Brock Process of aerial mapping. His work was placed in the archives of the Smithsonian Institution, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and the International Society of Photogrammetry in Enschede, Netherlands.

Robert M. Thomas (chemistry '29) was the co-inventor of butyl rubber, a synthetic that became famous during World War II. He was awarded the Charles Goodyear Medal by the American Chemical Society's Division of Rubber Chemists for his co-invention. Thomas is credited with 73 patents.

Benjamin A. Rubin (M.S. biology '38) invented the bifurcated vaccination needle to deliver tiny amounts of smallpox vaccine. The needle is credited with helping to eradicate smallpox. Rubin created the needle from a sewing machine needle.

Charles O. Gordon (industrial engineering '42) was co-owner of Tri-City Beverage Company in Johnson City, Tenn., which bottled the first Mountain Dew around 1950. He developed and marketed Dr. Enuf, a vitamin-laced soft drink. He was also the mayor of Johnson City.

Bruce Vorhauer (engineering mechanics '64) invented the contraceptive sponge, now marketed as the Today Contraceptive Sponge.

James H. Crumley (distributive education '69; M.S. education, basic studies '75) has been hailed as the founding father of camouflagethe bark and leaf patternclothing for hunters.

Gerald Spessard (M.S. dairy science '74) designed GameFace, a facial mask that protects children playing baseball and softball. The product was featured on ESPN Tomorrow and in Baseball America.

Lawrence Priddy (general science 1897) served as president of the National Association of Life Underwriters. A June 30, 1917, story in the Saturday Evening Post called him one of the world's greatest insurance salesmen. He led the fundraising campaign for the World War I Memorial Gymnasium at Virginia Tech.

J. M. Bland (general science '02) was the first president of Ruritan National.

Edward Hudson Lane (electrical engineering '10*) and his father founded the Standard Red Cedar Chest Co., later known as Lane Furniture, in 1912. He played a significant role in the success of the Student Aid Association at Tech. Lane Stadium bears his name.

Benjamin McKelway (general agriculture '17*) was editor of the Washington Evening Star and president of the Associated Press.

H. C. Groseclose (agricultural education '23) and W. S. Newman (M.S. agriculture '19) founded, in 1926, the Future Farmers of Virginia, which evolved into the Future Farmers of America.

Julian Cheatham (business administration '33) and Beverly F. Cheatham (business administration '32) founded Georgia Pacific.

Robert B. Pamplin Sr. (business administration '33) was chairman of the board and CEO of the Georgia Pacific Corporation. The American Academy of Achievement selected him "one of 40 giants of accomplishments from the nation's great fields of endeavor."

W. Thomas Rice (civil engineering '34) was chairman, CEO, and president of Seaboard Coast Line Railroad and director of the CSX Corporation. He was selected by the Secretary of Defense as the nation's 23^rd recipient of the National Transportation Award.

Alfred E. Knobler (ceramic engineering '37) is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Pilgrim Glass, a company widely known for its cranberry glass and the only maker of cameo glass in the country.

William C. Bixby (electrical engineering '42) was editor of Look magazine.

Alexander Giacco (chemical engineering '42) was CEO of Hercules.

Clifton C. Garvin (chemical engineering '43; M.S. '47) was chairman of the board and CEO of the Exxon Corporation, the world's most profitable company during his tenure.

Robert B. Delano (animal science '45) retired as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Thomas L. Phillips (electrical engineering '47; M.S. '47) retired as CEO, president, and chairman of the board of Raytheon Co. Under his leadership, Raytheon developed and marketed the first commercial home microwave. Phillips also played a role in the development of two of the company's guided missile programs.

Willis S. "Pete" White Jr. (electrical engineering '47) was chairman of the board of Appalachian Power Company.

Jack Guynn (industrial engineering '64) is president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank and one of 13 people who set the nation's economic policy with Alan Greenspan.

Charles Pryor Jr. (civil engineering '66; M.S. '68; Ph.D. '70) is the president and CEO of Westinghouse and former president and CEO of Babcok & Wilcox Nuclear Service Company. He was named Virginia's Outstanding Industrialist of the Year in 1993.

William J. Madia (Ph.D. chemistry '75) is director of Oak Ridge National Laboratories.

Stephen K. Bannon (urban affairs '76) is the former CEO of Biosphere 2 and now heads the investment boutique Bannon & Co., which put together a joint venture between CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting.

Julien E. V. Gaujot (1893*) and his brother, Antoine A. M. Gaujot (1900*), both received the Medal of Honor. Stationed at Douglas, Ariz., in 1911, Julien saw several people killed from stray gunfire from across the Mexican border. Infuriated, he rode his horse across the border in the face of the gunfire, halting further bloodshed and leading five Americans to safety. Antoine was recognized for bravery shown at San Mateo, Philippines, in 1899. Under heavy fire, he swam a river and returned to his own forces with a boat, the only means of passage for his forces to pursue insurrectionists.

Robert C. Macon (mechanical engineering '12), a major general commanding the 83^rd Infantry Division during World War II, accepted the surrender of German Generalmajor Botho Elster and his 18,850 troops and 754 officers near Beaugency, France, in what LIFE Magazine called "one of the largest and most fantastic surrenders in this war."

Lewis A. Pick (civil engineering '14) was the engineer in World War II who built the "road that could not be built"--the Burma Road (known as Pick's Pike). Later, he became chief of engineers for the United States Army and attained the rank of lieutenant general.

Earle D. Gregory (electrical engineering '23*), known as the "Sgt. York of Virginia" by newspapers nationwide, was the first native Virginian to receive the Medal of Honor. At Bois de Consenvoye, France, on Oct. 18, 1918, he single-handedly captured 22 German soldiers and two machine guns, saving countless American lives. The university's Gregory Guard precision drill team is named in his honor.

James F. Van Pelt Jr. (biology '40) was the navigator of a B-29 super fortress in both atomic bomb attacks against Japan at the close of World War II. He navigated the instrument ship in the first attack against Hiroshima, and his airplane dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

Jimmie Waters Monteith Jr. (mechanical engineering '41*) received the Medal of Honor posthumously for courage and gallantry while leading his men in destroying an enemy emplacement on the Normandy beachhead on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Monteith Hall honors his memory.

Herbert J. Thomas (business administration '41) was awarded the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross posthumously for heroism on the Solomon Islands during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. While leading his troops against Japanese forces, a grenade he tossed bounced back amidst his men. He flung himself across the grenade, sacrificing his own life to save his comrades. While a student at Virginia Tech, he was a nationally recognized varsity football player. A residence hall on campus, a destroyer, and a hospital bear his name.

Robert F. Femoyer ('44*) was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism in World War II. In action over Germany, he navigated his anti-aircraft-riddled airplane to safety in England, saving the lives of his crew even though he was mortally wounded. He died on November 2, 1944, an hour after landing his plane. Feymoyer Hall honors his memory.

Richard Thomas Shea Jr. (Army Specialized Training Program '48*) received the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroic actions near Sokkogae, Korea. In over 18 hours of heavy fighting against superior numbers, he moved among the defenders of Pork Chop Hill to ensure a successful defense and then led a counterattack, killing three enemy soldiers and refusing evacuation when wounded. He was killed in hand-to-hand combat while leading another counter-attack.

Thomas C. Richards (general business '56) is Tech's only four-star general. He was deputy commander-in-chief of the U.S. European Command.

David Tucker "Towhead" Brown (agricultural engineering '02*) was commissioned by President Herbert Hoover in 1930 to go to Panama to work on the Inter-American Highway and was subsequently placed in charge of the work in Central America. Examining 190,000 square miles of territory, he completed the survey of the most practical route from Mexico to Panama City.

Daniel E. Wright (civil engineering '04) was a member of the first party of young engineers to work on the Panama Canal, among the party making the first trip through the canal from ocean to ocean, and the municipal engineer for the entire Isthmus of Panama. The Rockefeller Foundation later appointed him to a special staff of its international health division for assignment in Greece, where he helped the country start a 15-year program of modern municipal improvements. In 1951, the Greek government awarded him a citation and King Paul elected him into the order of Golden Phoenix in appreciation for his work in eliminating malaria in that area from 1944-48. He did sanitation work in 52 countries.

Oren Austin Oliver (electrical engineering '09) pioneered orthodontic techniques that revolutionized the science, achieving international recognition in orthodontia by developing the lingual and labial arch technique, which applied a complicated system of pressures in a delicate manner over a period of time. According to Town & Country Review, a magazine published in London, "The results in slowly guiding irregularity into regularity . . . are so remarkable and so successful as to appear magical to the uninitiated." Among his numerous national and international awards was a congressional citation and medal for his work in obtaining dentists to examine selective service inductees during World War II and the first certificate ever bestowed by the International Dental Society.

Howard S. Avery (mining engineering '27) was internationally known in the field of metallurgy. He conducted pioneering work in the areas of precise creep-rupture testing, thermal fatigue evaluation, and carburizing behavior. Two of his technical papers garnered Lincoln Gold Medal awards, and he received the first ever Award of the New York Chapter of the American Society of Metals. In 1995, he donated professional alloy samples, their photomicrographs, and related files to a special collection at Virginia Techthe collection was independently appraised at over $400,000 at the time.

Dr. James M. Smith Jr. (M.S. chemistry '36) and his colleagues developed methotrexate as a cancer chemotherapeutic agent. He received at least 22 patents for his inventions and co-inventions.

Robert C. Richardson (physics '58; M.S. '60) won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering how helium-3 can transform itself into a liquid that flows without friction at temperatures near absolute zero.

Dr. Sidney C. Smith Jr. (chemical engineering '63) served as president of the American Heart Association and had, as one of his main projects, the nutritional labeling of food products. He also led the association in establishing its food certification program, wherein foods are labeled as heart-healthy.

Brian Keith Fulton (urban affairs '89) is vice president of AOL and former associate director of the National Urban League. He was recognized by Ebony magazine in 1991 as one of the "30 Leaders of the Future" and by the Discovery Channel in 1996 as a "Contemporary Leader." He received a Computerworld Smithsonian Award for technology innovation, the highest information technology honor for a civilian, and his work was accepted into the archives of the Smithsonian Institution.

William Addison "Add" Caldwell (agriculture 1876) was the first student to register at Virginia Tech, known at the time as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. Add had walked as much as 28 miles from his home in Craig County to Blacksburg.

Fred K. Prosser (civil engineering '11) designed the first Virginia Tech class ring in 1912. The ring he designed, for the class of 1911, cost $6-8. Prosser later lost his own class ring.

Charles B. D. Collyer (mining engineering '19*) established, in 1928, a new record for a trip around the world23 days and 15 hourstraveling by monoplane, which he piloted; steamer; and rail. Collyer and a passenger traveled approximately 20,000 miles at an average speed of 800 miles per day. They broke the former record by almost five days. In October 1929, Collyer also established a new east-to-west non-stop flight record by covering the distance from New York to Los Angeles in 24 hours five minutes, bettering the existing record by two hours. He was killed when his plane crashed in November 1929 while attempting to break the west-to-east non-stop flight record.

Mary Brumfield (biology '23; M.S. '25) was the first female student to graduate from Virginia Tech. She enrolled in 1921 with four other women as the school's first coeds but graduated in two years because she was a transfer student. She then enrolled in the master's program and received a second degree from Tech.

Harry D. Temple (industrial engineering '34), a colonel who headed the Army's Institute of Heraldry, designed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was inaugurated by President Kennedy as the highest award the nation bestows on civilians. Temple also designed the coat-of-arms for Tech's corps of cadets and successfully shepherded the crest through official registration with the U.S. Office of Heraldry.

Marian Spearman Bengel (architectural engineering '49) was the first woman in Tennessee to become a licensed Professional Engineer.

Robert F. Titus (mining engineering '48*), a brigadier general, flew the first aircraft non-stop over the North Pole.

William A. Moon Jr. (geology '55; M.S. '61) received an Honorary Order of the British Empire, an equivalent of knighthood bestowed by the queen of England on foreign nationals, "in recognition of his contribution to Texaco and the United Kingdom upstream oil and gas industry."

Charlie L. Yates (mechanical engineering '58) was the first African-American to graduate from Virginia Tech and the first African-American to graduate from a traditionally white college in the South.

William W. Lewis Jr. (physics '63) was Tech's first Rhodes Scholar.

Kylene Barker Hibbard (clothing, textiles, and related arts '78) was crowned Miss America in 1979.

Christopher C. Kraft Jr. (aerospace engineering '45) did much of the pioneering work for the country's manned space program. As director of flight operations at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Tex., he was responsible for landing men on the moon and returning them safely to Earth. In 1972, he became director of the center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. He has been called "a true pioneer in all of the United States manned programs for exploring the vast reaches of space."

John B. "Jack" McKay (aerospace engineering '46) was one of the first seven pilots selected to fly the X-15 for NASA. He achieved astronaut status for taking it to an altitude of 56 miles and a speed of 398 mph. In 1995, George Allen, then the governor of Virginia, declared a John B. McKay Day in honor of his contributions to the space industry.

Floyd Bennett (aerospace engineering '54) was chief of the landing analysis branch of the Manned Spacecraft Center. He designed the landing trajectory for the Apollo 15 moon expedition of July 1970, and a hill on the moon was named for him in recognition of his work. Bennett Hill is a high point in the Hadley-Apennine descent area that was used as a landmark for the landing module Falcon.

Roger K. Crouch (M.S. physics '68; Ph.D. '71) twice served as the scientific astronaut with the Columbia Space Shuttle in 1997. Now he is the lead scientist for the NASA office that selects and funds the scientific experiments on the shuttles and on the International Space Station. On one mission, he carried a Virginia Tech banner into space.

Robert E. "Bob" Castle Jr. (electrical engineering '76; M.S. '78) is the flight director in Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He has directed over 25 space shuttle missions either as the flight director or the mission operations director, including the lead work on the first space shuttle mission to dock with the Russian Mir space station and the first shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). He currently leads preparations for the space shuttle mission "5A" that will carry the U. S. laboratory module Destiny into orbit in January 2001. NASA presented him with its Stellar Award for his outstanding leadership in the development of the flight control team operations concept and Russian interfaces to support the ISS.

*Attended Virginia Tech

Assisting with research on this article were Kimberly Richards-Thomas, Catherine Doss, Arleen Campbell, Christian Moody, Su Clauson-Wicker, and Ruth Graves. Other assistance was provided by Larry Hincker, Lon Savage, Buddy Russell, Tom Tillar, and Harry Temple.