Curtis B. Thompson completed his MSEE at Purdue in 1952 and accepted a position in the Aeronautical Division of Honeywell, Inc. He retired 38 years later as senior vice president of the company.

After 6 years with Honeywell, he became program manager and project supervisor of the Ordinance Division and led major army weapons project development. Later, as general manager and director of engineering, he headed a start up business in signal processing and underwater sound. While vice president of operations for the Industrial Division in Philadelphia, he developed the first successful microprocessor-based process control system, the TDC-2000. Thompson introduced the "plants within a plant" concept and the accent on quality now known as TQC. In 1972, he became president and general manager of the Test Instruments Division in Denver which he turned into one of the top performing divisions in Honeywell. He joined the top management team in Minneapolis in 1975 as vice president for corporate development and then vice president and group executive for the industrial area.

In the 1980's, he became responsible for the Components area. In 1985, he was promoted to senior corporate vice president working with the chairman and CEO on corporate restructuring and strategic planning. His final two years with the company were as senior vice president industrial where he facilitated the transition of the new industrial management team.

Actively involved at Purdue, he has served on both the Engineering Dean's Visiting Committee and the Krannert School Dean's Advisory Committee. He was named a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 1982.