Academy of Distinguished Alumni

Academy of Distinguished Alumni
In the Fall of 1999, the Department of Aerospace Engineering inducted four graduates as well as aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin into its Academy of Distinguished Alumni. The academy recognizes alumni who have made notable contributations to the field of aerospace engineering and/or achieved other significant accomplishments.

Aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin was instrumental in providing funding to support education in the aeronautical sciences at the University of Maryland. In recognition of his philanthropic gifts and pioneering spirit in the field of aeronautics, the University of Maryland in 1949 designated the College of Engineering as the Glenn L. Martin College of Engineering and Aeronautical Sciences. This name again changed in 1955 when the engineering building and those of chemistry, mathematics and physics were designated the Glenn L. Martin Institute of Technology.

B.S. '82, M.S. '84, Ph.D. '86
Kevin G. Bowcutt is chief scientist of hypersonics with the Boeing Co., in Long Beach, Calif. Bowcutt has been with Boeing (formerly Rockwell International, North American Aircraft) since 1986 and was named a senior technical fellow by Boeing in 1998. Much of his professional career has involved research in and development of airbreathing hypersonic vehicles, including missiles, aircraft and space launch vehicles.

Maj. Gen. U.S. Air Force (Ret.), B.S. '65
Gary L. Curtin is senior vice president with the Defense Group Inc. In 1998, Curtin retired with the rank of major general after 33 years of service with the U.S. Air Force. His military career included duties with intercontinental ballistic missile operations, command and control, military intelligence and political/military affairs. Curtin was assigned in 1989 as the senior U.S. military representative to the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) in Geneva, Switzerland, and was instrumental in negotiating the START I Treaty signed in 1991.



Ph.D. '77
Michael D. Griffin is the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He was previously the executive vice president and chief technical officer with Orbital Sciences Corp., in Dulles, Va. Prior to joining Orbital in 1995, he served as senior vice president for program development at Space Industries International as well as general manager of Space Industries in Houston, Texas. He supported numerous space missions while working at Computer Sciences Corp., the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.


B. S. '48
Although semi-retired, Bastian "Buz" Hello is still an active management consultant to Rockwell International Corp. His distinguished career at Rockwell includes management of strategic military aircraft programs as well as making important contributions to America's space efforts. He was responsible for pre launch preparation and launch sup port for six Apollo missions that included three successful moon landings.