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 West Nyack, NY - Terry J. Hart, a retired astronaut, Air Force fighter pilot and Bell Labs engineer, will be the marquee speaker at the sixth annual Lower Hudson Valley Engineering Expo.
The event is set for Sunday, March 29, 2009, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, N.Y.
The Expo’s mission is to introduce middle and high school students and their families to educational opportunities and career options in the engineering industry. Leading engineering colleges from throughout the Northeast and top engineering firms from across the Hudson Valley will have interactive displays and exhibits at this free event.
“We are extremely pleased to have a person of Terry Hart’s stature agree to join us at the Expo,” said Malcolm G. McLaren, president and CEO of McLaren Engineering Group, a primary sponsor of the event. “His real-life exploits as an astronaut have captured the imagination of the American public and by sharing his experience and knowledge, we hope young science and math students will be inspired to pursue a career in engineering.”
Hart was part of the first group of space shuttle astronauts, known as the “Thirty-Five New Guys,” chosen by NASA in 1978. He and four others manned the Challenger on NASA’s 11th shuttle mission in April 1984, logging 168 hours in orbit above the earth. He and his crew were credited with being the first astronauts to repair a satellite from the shuttle.
Hart put his engineering career at Bell Laboratories on hold for four years to be an Air Force fighter pilot and for six years to be a NASA astronaut. After retiring as an astronaut in 1985, he continued a prosperous career in the telecommunications industry. He had received two patents while employed at Bell Labs, working on electrical and mechanical design for a variety of electronic power equipment used in the Bell System. He currently teaches courses on aircraft design and performance at Lehigh University, his alma mater.
For more information about the expo, visit www.BeAnEngineer.org.
ABOUT EXPO: The Lower Hudson Valley Engineering EXPO, a project of The Foundation for Engineering Education Inc. (501(c )(3)), is a collaboration of several engineering societies in the Hudson Valley including the American Society of Civil Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the NYS Society of Professional Engineers.
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