Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Class of 2019: Christopher Azzano
Renzo Azzano opened his wallet and looked at his wife Judy — they had a decision to make.
Both of their sons desperately wanted to take a glider ride. And, really, that’s why they drove to the gliderport about an hour away from their home in northern Michigan. But Renzo Azzano was a teacher, and his was the only income in the family. So when he dug into his wallet, he had only so much.
Only enough to buy two rides. Which meant he couldn’t go. And the former World War II B-52 Bomber crew chief really loved to fly.
But Renzo saw his boys’ faces and made the only choice a loving father could, shoveling the bills into awaiting hands and then watching his boys enjoy the ride.
He couldn’t have known then, really, what that one experience would do. How it “lit the fuse” for Chris, then 10, and spurred a career in aviation and aerospace.
“I had always been fascinated by airplanes,” Chris Azzano says. “My mother insists my first word was ‘jet.’ But it was that glider ride that kindled my passion for flying.”
That interest led him to dream of becoming a pilot, to leave his home state to pursue a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering at Purdue, to apply to the Air Force for flight training, and, eventually, to become an Air Force test pilot.
His passion for aerospace hasn’t faded one bit, more than 30 years later, with Chris Azzano now as commander of the Air Force Test Center and all of the considerable responsibility that entails. He leads 18,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel working across Edwards Air Force Base in California, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee and 32 other locations around the United States, a $31-billion enterprise with a $2.5-billion annual budget.
But he still can’t quite believe when he looks out the window in his office at Edwards AFB that he can see the exact location Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier.
Still can’t quite believe he’s flown more than 2,900 hours in 35 aircraft types as an instructor pilot, evaluator pilot and experimental test pilot.
Can’t quite believe how blessed he is to be part of the Air Force, steeped in that history and tradition of excellence, working alongside people every day whose passions are to preserve Americans’ freedom and way of life, who are driven to serve and protect “the best country on the planet,” who are honored to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Can’t quite believe he’s been selected as an Outstanding Aerospace Engineer, an award given by Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics to honor distinguished alumni. Because he still can’t quite believe how impactful and lasting his Purdue education has been in forming an accomplished aerospace engineer.
“To be associated with so many distinguished alumni is an honor and, frankly, a bit overwhelming,” says Azzano, who will be honored at the April 2 banquet. “I have always held the school in the highest esteem. I can't imagine a more meaningful award and hope to live up to the legacy of our graduates who have dedicated their lives to the aerospace sciences and to making the world a better place.”
To do that, Azzano (BSAAE ’87) needed a firm aerospace foundation.
He initially figured he’d zero in on the aviation track, considering his dream of becoming a pilot. But advice from mentors while he was in high school shifted his approach: Getting a technical education is the most important thing he could do to launch into a career, they told him, and, also, it would open up options he otherwise wouldn’t have. An engineering education would open doors, they said.
With that idea firmly established, Azzano was set to stay in his home state and attend the University of Michigan. Until a family friend presented an alternative.
Jim Schorr, a native of Indiana and a member of the President’s Council at Purdue, had a summer home near the Azzanos. When he learned of Chris Azzano’s interest in aviation and engineering, Schorr started planting the idea of Purdue. Finally, by Azzano’s senior year in high school, Schorr invited the family to West Lafayette for a home football weekend.
“I went to Purdue and fell in love with it,” Azzano says. “There’s something about the campus and the people and the overarching friendliness and the theme of education and excellence. It permeates the campus. I went there and said, ‘I want to be a part of this.’”
Once enrolled, Azzano found the reality met the expectations.
He constantly was challenged in coursework and found the school’s insistence on pushing boundaries and fostering innovation were exactly what he needed. It was the pioneering spirit he came in with — and was able to build on.
He grew under mentorship of Professors Gus Gustafuson and Kathleen Howell, appreciating how Gustafuson advised — sometimes without even saying many words — and how Howell’s teaching style “ground the information into you by making you repeat problems over and over again, all different varieties,” Azzano says.
“I discovered that each time you do a problem, you learn a little bit more. It builds a little bit more of your intuition. And that intuition is the foundation of an engineering mind,” he says. “The more you practice, the more you think. The more you solve problems that are similar but different, the more it builds your technological intuition, which grows your aptitude for solving problems of an even more complex nature. That is really what I learned at Purdue.”
Azzano, who was named an “Outstanding Senior Engineer” by the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the College of Engineering in 1987, continued to seek what he called a thirst for conquering the unknown after Purdue, too. Azzano is convinced Howell’s recommendation got him admitted to graduate school at Stanford University. He didn’t intend to stay, though. He wanted to apply for flight training program in the Air Force. A recruiter, though, told him the timing was bad, so he started his graduate work at Stanford. He finished his master’s degree and began coursework on his Ph.D., but then a recruiter called out of the blue: The time was right.
So Azzano left Stanford.
“When I was admitted to the Air Force for flight training, it was a dream come true,” Azzano says.
Not only because Azzano had been envisioning it since he took that glider flight as a 10-year-old, but because he could share the journey with his dad.
Renzo Azzano longed to be a pilot. Only weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. But when he went for the physical, he was told he was color blind, so they disqualified him. He wouldn’t be able to fly. Renzo, a first-generation Italian-American, was devastated. Still, he served the U.S. faithfully at a time when his country most needed his energy and technical skill, in World War II maintaining aircraft.
Nearly 50 years later, when Chris told Renzo he was admitted for flight training, the eyes that can’t distinguish certain colors welled up with tears.
“To be able to fulfill my dream of flying in the Air Force but also to pursue a passion of my father’s created a unique bond between us,” Chris says, “because he was able to live vicariously through my experiences.”
There have been quite a few memorable ones during the course of an accomplished career — many as a result of Chris Azzano’s affiliation with Purdue.
When he assumed the role of director for Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in June 2017, he was asked to take on the role of mentoring Purdue Air Force ROTC cadets in the 220 Detachment. It was an option because Wright Patterson is in Dayton, Ohio, only a few hours from West Lafayette. So Azzano called Colonel Lynn Scheel, Purdue’s Air Force ROTC commander. Two weeks later, Scheel asked Azzano to be the keynote speaker for the combined ROTC commencement.
Azzano was an ideal choice, considering his extensive experience. By that point, he was well into a career that had included stints at 10 Air Force bases and assignments at The Pentagon, moving from pilot to commander roles throughout the country.
“It was one of the highlights of my career,” Azzano says about the commencement. “To be there and to talk to the Cadets afterward and see the excitement on their faces as they were getting ready to embark on their military careers, it was incredibly rewarding.”
Azzano was at Wright Patterson for 14 months before heading back to the West Coast to assume his current role. But an unexpected call brought him back to campus in the fall. He was asked to perform the coin toss before Purdue’s Military Appreciation Day game against Missouri. Azzano only hesitated to respond because he couldn’t grasp the request. Him? Really? On the field at a Boilermaker football game? In front of the team he’d followed for years?
“It was an honor,” he says. “Not only am I passionate about military service and aviation, I’m a huge Purdue sports fan. So to be able to walk out on the field with David Blough and Jake Thieneman and the other players for the coin toss was a real treat.
“It was a thrill to be there. There were probably about 200 ROTC cadets there with their families, too. You could see pride on the faces of the moms and dads. It was a very special event.”
Though Purdue lost on a last-second field goal, Azzano won’t soon forget the experience. Especially because wife Jennifer and daughter Alli, a student at Purdue, were able to join him on the field before the game. Son Steven was back in California, the Stanford freshman forced to watch on TV, “immensely jealous,” Chris says with a laugh.
“My family is everything to me, my motivation to serve,” Chris Azzano says. “Military families sacrifice so much, my own children included. To be anchored to an institution like Purdue and all its traditions, everywhere we’ve lived, has meant a lot to my family. Our connection with Purdue provided a source of stability over the years, not to mention immense pride.”
Could there have been a moment to better encapsulate Chris Azzano’s passions? Most of his family by his side as he represented the Air Force, the calling that has kept him energized for nearly 29 years, inside Ross-Ade Stadium?
Maybe if Steven could have been there, too. Maybe if his parents could have been there. Maybe, then, it would have been perfect.
Renzo Azzano will turn 97 soon, full of shared experiences from his middle child’s burgeoning career. Chris has done his best to pay Dad back for the support.
Including digging into his wallet.
Ten years ago, Chris took Renzo to a glider park not far from Edwards AFB.
“I finally got to return the favor,” Chris says. “Long overdue, but Dad loved the flight.”
More on 2019 Class of OAEs:
March 25: Julie Arndt
March 26: Chris Azzano
March 27: Doug Beal
March 28: Mike Dreessen
March 29: Tony Gingiss
April 1: Scott Meyer
April 2: Lindsay Millard
April 3: David Thompson