Spotlight Archives

Leadership of the Air Force's national museum changed hands during a ceremony on Dec. 16 as Lt. Gen. (Ret.) John "Jack" L. Hudson became director of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Hudson took the reins from Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Charles D. Metcalf, who is retiring after serving as museum director for the past 14 years.

AAE Asst. Prof. Alina Alexeenko has been chosen as a recipient of the NSF Early CAREER Award for her proposal entitled "Quantifying and Exploiting Knudsen Thermal Forces in Nano/Microsystems."

The FAA Aircraft Certification Service has 31 test pilots. Test pilots are trained to be aircraft “PhDs” and fly diverse aircraft, with differing flight decks and procedures. They are trained to fly very precisely and make keen observations while maneuvering the aircraft. They are trained on numerous types of aircraft so they are versatile and can cope with the unexpected.

Seven months after their wedding vows, a couple was reunited on Sunday in the Purdue Armory for a different type of oath. Andrew Hoft had just taken off his commencement robe after receiving his degree in aeronautical engineering alongside 1,400 other undergraduate students in the Elliott Hall of Music. His wife, Valerie Hoft, had been in the audience watching the ceremony and hurried next door with Andrew to give him the oath of office that commissioned him as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Boeing satellite engineer Patrick Jasanis got the space bug early. While growing up in Orlando, Fla., his school would interrupt classes so students could watch the fiery launch of the massive Space Shuttle at nearby Kennedy Space Center. "I was fascinated with the space program," he said. "It was amazing to see, feel and hear the shuttle launch."