Walt Eversman, BSAE'59, OAE'08 to be inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Hall of Fame.
Walt Eversman, BSAE' 59, OAE '08, is being inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Hall of Fame. He was a three-year letterwinner as a swimmer from 1956 to 1959 for head coach Dick Papenguth.
Eversman received the Big Ten Medal of Honor for combined proficiency in scholarship and athletics in 1959. He earned All-America honors in the backstroke in 1957 and served as team captain for the 1957-58 season.
He graduated with highest honors (5.63 on a 6.0 scale). Eversman has spent most of his adult life in academia, earning his master's and doctorate degrees in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University and teaching at Wichita State University (1964-74), University of Canterbury in New Zealand (1974-78) and University of Missouri-Rolla (1978-present), where he is Curators' Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
He has earned numerous professional awards along the way including the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics highest award the Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award in 2008. He was named a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in May 2011. Eversman remains active athletically by running marathons - including Boston, New York and Berlin - and cycling and satisfies his competitive nature by skippering an International Lightning class sailboat in local races.
Walt and 7 other former athletes will join 118 former athletes, coaches and administrators who have been previously inducted into the Hall of Fame since 1994, when the selection process was initiated.
The honorees will be recognized during the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Mackey Arena on the Purdue campus Saturday, April 14, beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets, priced at $60 each, will be available through the John Purdue Club and at the Athletic Ticket Office, 900 John R. Wooden Drive, starting in early March.