October 16, 2007

Purdue Homecoming salutes first man on moon with new building, events

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, will be honored with a series of events Oct. 26-27, including the dedication of the new $53 million Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, at his alma mater Purdue University.

NASA and fellow Purdue astronauts salute Armstrong, Purdue space efforts

NASA administrator and Purdue graduate Michael Griffin will join Armstrong to speak during a dinner at which as many as 15 of Purdue's 22 astronaut alumni will attend. Purdue's new president, astrophysicist France A. Córdova, was the first woman and youngest person to hold the position of NASA chief scientist.

An 8-foot bronze sculpture of Armstrong as a college student will be unveiled. Leading away from the statue are moon boot impressions reminiscent of Armstrong's historic lunar excursion.

Armstrong and Purdue alumnus Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon, will speak at the dedication.

A mural and moon rock in the new building also pays tribute to another Apollo astronaut: Roger Chaffee, a Purdue alumnus who was killed in 1967 along with alumnus Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Ed White while training for the Apollo I mission.

NASA is sending its traveling exhibit to campus for that weekend.

When

Sculpture unveiling is 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26. Dinner is 7 p.m. Friday. Building dedication is 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27.

The building

The building's distinctive winglike roof extensions are part of a design that mimics the appearance of an aircraft to symbolize Purdue's contributions to flight and the space program. The building contains "learning modules" intended to facilitate student teamwork, an important facet of engineering education and preparation for the engineering work force.

Neil Armstrong Hall will house the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, School of Materials Engineering, Department of Engineering Education, and several engineering programs, including the Minority Engineering Program, Women in Engineering Program and Engineering Projects in Community Service, or EPICS. The facility also houses the dean's office and engineering administration.

CONTACTS: Emil Venere, (765) 494-4709, venere@purdue.edu

Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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