Two American aerospace heroes are to meet at week’s end at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The first human to step onto the Moon, Neil Armstrong, will present the Neil Armstrong Medal of Excellence to Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, captain of the US Airways airliner that, just after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15, 2009, had to ditch his plane on the Hudson River.
The plane’s two engines were taken out by a flock of geese, with Sullenberger carrying out a calm and cool emergency landing on the Hudson River, staying on board the aircraft until all 155 passengers and crew were safely off the plane.
The Neil Armstrong Medal of Excellence recognizes individuals who have embodied the same pioneer spirit, determination and dedication that distinguished Neil Armstrong’s exploration of space and his later roles as a businessman and scholar.
A native of rural Texas who learned to fly as a teenager, Sullenberger received his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in June 1973. Within weeks he was at Purdue taking summer classes to complete his master’s degree work.
In his recent book — Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters — Sullenberger said that his study at Purdue prepared him well for the challenges he would face.
Armstrong received a bachelor’s degree from Purdue in aeronautical engineering in 1955 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering from Purdue in 1970.
Sullenberger, dubbed the “Hero of the Hudson”, will be awarded the university’s Neil Armstrong Medal of Excellence on November 12, making him only the second person to earn the honor.
In 2007, then Purdue President Martin C. Jischke was awarded the university’s first-ever Neil Armstrong Medal of Excellence by the first moonwalking astronaut.
By LD/CSE