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cadrmg03
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Iron
Why Did I Become an Engineer
cadrmg03   10/10/2011 7:50:15 PM
NO RATINGS
My story very closely parallels that of Homer Hickam, the main character in the movie October Sky, except my father was a farmer in Illinois instead of a coal miner in West Virgina.  I well remember listening to JFK's moon speech in the early 1960's.  For my high school senior class project in 1963, I built a rocket from scratch with the help of the Morgan Amateur Rocket Society in Jacksonville, IL.

I enrolled at Illinois College in a 3-2 engineering program in fall of 1963.  This involved 3 years at Illinois College studying math and physics, and 2 years at an engineering school (such as the University of Illinois, Rolla School of Mines).  At the end of 5 years, you would get two degrees.  My grades were not good enough to transfer after 3 years, so I finished 4 years at IC with a math degree (and a semester of chemistry short for a degree in physics).  I spent 3 years, 11 months, and 27 days in the Air Force (but who counts).  In 1972 I was accepted at Northrop Institute of Technology in Inglewood, CA where I got a BS in Aerospace Engineering in 1975.  I then got an MS in Civil Engineering (specializing in structures) from California State University Long Beach in 1986.  From 1972 to the present, I worked on the B-1 Bomber for Rockwell, a satellite for Aerojet, the Space Shuttle for Rockwell, and the Apache Helicopter (among other projects) for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing.

The desire to work in the space program was what got me into engineering in the first place, and I have never regretted it.  I have had the opportunity to work on a lot of interesting projects and work with a lot of good people in the 39 years I have been in this business, and the 10 years I spent on the Shuttle were the most fun of all.  I worked as a structural loads engineer on the Shuttle from 1979 to 1989.  During that time, I also had the good fortune to work in the Speaker's Bureau.  I was able to travel all over the country giving presentations about the Space Shuttle and the space program.

I have never regretted my decision to become an engineer.  It has cost me a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but I have also had the opportunity to work with some of finest people imaginable. 

Cadrmg03



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