The Tullahoma, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen hosted a public reception on Monday, October 21, 2014 to honor two groups for bringing "honor and distinction to Tullahoma," community coordinator Winston Brooks announced.

The Board welcomed Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics alums Glenn W. Liston (BSAAE'82) and Dr. John D. Schmisseur (Ph.D.'97).

Glenn Liston has been selected as chief of the new High Speed Experimentation Branch. The branch is an element of the High Speed Systems Division, in the Aerospace Systems Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). He is chief of AEDC’s new hypersonic research branch (known as the High Speed Experimentation Branch). He began his professional career in June 1982 as a 2nd Lt. in the USAF, at the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratory (AFWAL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

In 1987, Glenn Liston completed his military service as a captain at Onizuka AFB, and he then joined the Air Force as a federal civilian employee. He has served the majority of his military and civilian career in AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate and its predecessors.

Dr. John Schmisseur has joined the faculty of the University of Tennessee Knoxville Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering on Aug. 1, 2014. He will be teaching and leading research at the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI). Prior to joining the faculty, Schmisseur was chief of the Energy, Power & Propulsion Sciences Division and program manager for aerothermodynamics within the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).

During his tenure at AFOSR, he initiated and led a national strategic research plan which has guided the research efforts of multiple federal agencies, championed the transition of basic research capabilities that have advanced flagship national hypersonics technology programs and transformed test and evaluation capabilities, and envisioned the HIFiRE program which unifies the efforts of AFRL, NASA and the Australian DSTO to advance fundamental hypersonic science and technology via flight research.

Dr. Schmisseur will also be recognized by the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics as he receives the 2014 Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award in November.

Source: news article, Tullahoma News, October 21, 2014: http://www.tullahomanews.com/

To read the full story, visit: http://www.tullahomanews.com/?p=27266

To learn more about the School of AAE Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award, visit: https://engineering.purdue.edu/AAE/AboutUs/Alumni/oae/OAE_Web_Invite