Purdue News
Purdue News
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September 1999
Purdue astronauts to rendezvous on campus Oct. 22NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A news conference is being planned, time and date to be announced, and that will be the only time during the weekend that journalists will have access to the astronauts.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue University's astronaut alumni will return to their alma mater for a reunion this fall. Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and last men on the moon, are expected to join the other astronaut alumni who will return to campus for President's Council Weekend, Oct. 22-23. Planning is still under way, but many of the university's 19 living astronaut alumni will speak at various "Back to Class" sessions offered to President's Council members that Friday, and all will be honored during the Purdue vs. Penn State home football game that Saturday. "This will be only the second general reunion of our astronauts on the campus, making this a very special event" said Joseph L. Bennett, vice president for university relations. "The last time was in 1985 when all 15 of our living astronaut alumni at that time returned to campus. These men and women have extremely busy schedules, but their loyalty to Purdue is so strong that all of them are making an effort to return. As of today, only Mary Ellen Weber has told us she will not be able to come, and that is because she is scheduled for a NASA mission in the fall." Known as the cradle of astronauts, Purdue has graduated 21 people who have been selected for space flight, including Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee, who died Jan. 27, 1967, in a fire inside their space capsule during a preflight test of Apollo I. The President's Council is an organization of individuals and families who provide significant financial support to the university. Purdue's 21 astronaut alumni are: Neil A. Armstrong, bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering, 1955. John E. Blaha , master's degree in astronautical engineering, 1966. Roy D. Bridges Jr., master's degree in astronautical engineering, 1966. Mark N. Brown, bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1973. John J. Casper, master's degree in astronautical engineering, 1967. Eugene A. Cernan, bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, 1956. Roger B. Chaffee, bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering, 1957. Richard O. Covey, master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1969. Guy S. Gardner, master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1970. Virgil I. Grissom, bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, 1950. Gregory J. Harbaugh, bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1978. Michael J. McCulley, bachelor's and master's degrees in metallurgical engineering, 1970. Gary E. Payton, master's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1972. Mark L. Polansky, bachelor's and master's degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1978. Jerry Ross, bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering, 1970 and 1972. Loren J. Shriver, master's degree in astronautical engineering, 1968. Janice E. Voss, bachelor's degree in engineering science, 1975. Charles D. Walker, bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, 1971. Mary Ellen Weber, bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, 1984. Donald E. Williams, bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, 1964. David A. Wolf, bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, 1978.
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