A trip down memory lane...

Today, I went to College Station to attend the Texas A&M University's Aero Department Senior class Critical Design Review (CDR). A CDR is a review of a design by other engineers and management, etc. In the case of the Aero students, members of industry and government come to give comments and ask questions. This allows the students to be exposed to tough questions and comments from people that are in the business. It is a very intimidating time for these young engineers, because it's probably their first time to make a presentation to this type of audience.

Anyway, today, i was one of the 19 persons from industry and government. I was the only one affiliated with NASA and the only operations guy there. I was also the youngest of the persons from industry and government. In fact, i was mistaken as a student.

I was impressed with all the presentations, especially the rocket team's presentation. Being a former Rocket Rat, i has a special interest in what they've been up to over the last 7 years. Yes, it has been 7 years since i have graduated from college. Crazy, I know. They have progressed beyond what i could've imagined. They have progressed into launching their hybrid engines. We never progressed beyond static testing on the test stand. The program has really come a long way, and I'm a bit jealous of their accomplishments. The good news is that they are still using the launch tower that our class built.

It was also nice to chat with a few of my old professors. Dr. Pollock is still the same guy i remember. He caught me up to speed on all the goings-on and future plans. He's trying to get a launch site in Angleton. So, hopefully that will go through so that i can actually see a rocket launch. I also spoke briefly with Dr. Carlson and Dr. Valasek. Dr. V will be at JSC next week, so i'll try to meet up with him then.

So, back to the trip down memory lane. It definitely was a trip down memory lane to be back in that building again. The smells were still the same. Walking through some of the classrooms brought back good memories and bad memories. The one classroom that i dreaded was the one in which i had numerical methods in, taught by Debbie Furey. I didn't do well in that class and had to take it twice...both times with Debbie. Luckily i was able to move on after the second time. Another fond memory was just being on campus and making the walk between buildings. From the parking garage, i walked passed a building that i had most of my math classes in. I made the walk to the H.R. "Bum" Bright Bldg from the math building (Blocker). A walk that i had made many times, but this time i didn't have thoughts of did-i-pass-that-test-panics, or when am i gonna get that report written, or did i finish my homework...etc. This time it was a completely enjoyable walk...i was able to stop and take in the scenery! Being back on campus was nice...

Well, that was my trip to College Station and my walk down memory lane. Have you taken a recent trip down memory lane?