Purdue University President France A. Córdova made these comments during Saturday's (Aug. 8) summer commencement ceremony.

August 8, 2009

Córdova: Purdue impact felt around the world - and high above it

Your course of study may have been different than the person sitting in the next row or across the aisle, but there is one thing you have in common: your Purdue degree. You can hold this high and with great pride.

Just two weeks ago a Purdue alumnus was on the front page of the New York Times, in a large photo above the fold. You couldn’t tell who it was inside the white spacesuit projected against the blackness of space; but the caption told you it was David Wolf, tethered to the robotic arm of the Space Shuttle and examining the International Space Station. David was one of two Boilermakers in space that week; the other was Shuttle Endeavor’s Captain Mark Polansky.

David and Mark, both 1978 engineering graduates of Purdue, staged a dramatic moment on July 20th, during the middle of festivities at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space museum. The event celebrated the 40th anniversary of the moment when a man made the first footprint on the moon – the astronauts who defined that moment were in the audience.

In the middle of the celebratory speeches, the emcee announced an uplink to the Space Station. Then – the nation and the world saw Mark and David, both wearing Purdue caps, floating in microgravity in front of a large Purdue banner. They talked about how the space program inspires us into the future, and how they were standing on the shoulders of giants who conceived, engineered and delivered the space program. They talked about the importance of international collaboration. Implicit in their remarks, because of their collegiate apparel, was the importance of going to a college that can launch you as a leader. At the end of their brief remarks (which you can hear on You Tube) they did a fist bump and said, “Go Boilers!”

The audience laughed and the emcee said, “I think we got the point: Purdue is a great school.” He pointed at a man in the front row of the auditorium and said, “Neil Armstrong, also a graduate of Purdue. Purdue University, the Boilermakers.”

In an earlier shuttle mission this year, boilermaker graduate Drew Feustel repaired the Hubble Space Telescope in three long and difficult space walks. The Hubble has given the world new understanding about the nature of the universe and the luminous matter and dark energy that comprise it. One of its revelations: our Milky Way galaxy is on a collision course with the Andromeda Galaxy. That shouldn’t scare you; it should amaze you that human beings with their skills in thinking and innovation, and the courage to do what seems impossible, could make such a grand inference. We gain such understanding because we do things that are extraordinary. And that is what Purdue prepares you to do: the extraordinary.

While Purdue’s legacy and current activity in space are reasons to be proud, Purdue’s impact is “wider than the sky.”

Next October Purdue agronomy faculty member Gebisa Ejeta will be awarded the World Food Prize – the Nobel prize of Agriculture – for increasing the yield of sorghum, one of the world’s five principal grains, upon which the people of sub-Saharan Africa depend for survival. Only two years ago another Purdue College of Agriculture faculty member, Phil Nelson, was awarded the World Food Prize for his work on perfecting the storage, packaging, and transportation of fruit and vegetables, a technology called bulk aseptic food processing.

Purdue is the only organization that has produced two World Food Prize winners, further distinguishing our highly-ranked College of Agriculture for its contributions to addressing global problems. 

And there’s Nancy Ho, a Purdue PhD in Molecular Biology who stayed here to teach on the graduate faculty and become an eminent researcher. Her work on recombinant yeast that can convert sugars from cellulosic materials to ethanol for fuel has garnered many awards, including one called by the Chicago Tribune “The Oscar of Invention” and referred to by others as “the Nobel Prize of Applied Research.” Discover magazine has honored her, as has Senator Richard Lugar with his 2006 Energy Patriot Award for her work to address the energy shortage.

We all know of Brian Lamb, who was born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Purdue, and went on to found C-Span, the television network dedicated to covering government proceedings. C-Span is the watershed for integrity in reporting, watched voraciously by the entire world. For this work he has received the National Humanities Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

All of these alumni – explorers and innovators -- think of Purdue as their launch pad. Today it’s your launch pad. You’ve got the tools to make discoveries, to learn from mistakes that are yours -- or perhaps someone else’s. You’ve got the tools to make repairs, and to continue to address the stuff that matters. At Purdue we put an emphasis on learning the fundamentals – math, grammar, writing, analysis, and communication – because these provide a strong foundation for your unique contributions. We emphasize creativity because it’s the wellspring of innovation, and teamwork – often on an international scale -- because with it you can do so much more, so much faster.

Your Purdue education has made it possible for you to aim higher, achieve more, and (of interest to many) earn more.  We can’t wait to see what you will accomplish. Just carry the Purdue flag -- and when you meet another boilermaker – on this planet or another – give her the boiler fist bump.

Go Boilers! Hail Purdue!

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