Astronaut and SEAS Alumnus Charlie Camarda Visits GW and Receives President's Medal

Astronaut and SEAS alumnus Charlie Camarda (MS '80) visited GW and SEAS on Tuesday, October 25th, to present to GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg the GW banner that he flew into space aboard the recent "Return to Flight" shuttle mission. Dr. Camarda also received the GW President's Medal--the hightest honor bestowed by GW--at a university ceremony that evening. Dr. Camarda, who has logged more than 333 hours in space, served as a mission specialist aboard the recent shuttle mission.

Dr. Camarda began his visit by meeting with SEAS faculty and SEAS students in two separate, informal sessions. He met first with SEAS faculty to discuss ways that American universities can inspire young people to go into engineering disciplines, and to mentor them so that they have the skills eventually to become top-notch senior engineers. He was consistent in delivering the message that engineers were the "real heroes" behind the recent shuttle mission. "Engineers are the reason that we are back up flying," said Camarda. "I want people to understand how much talent it took from these men and women to get the program back up."

During his session with SEAS students, Dr. Camarda gave a presentation that focused on the engineering discoveries and feats behind the recent shuttle flight. His presentation included slides and time-elapsed video sequences of key events and the behavior of various materials that were tested in preparation for the launch. He stressed to the students the importance of interdisciplinary work in engineering, saying, "My advice is to learn to listen to people from other disciplines and learn to understand where they're coming from, technically."

At the medal ceremony in the evening, Dr. Camarda shared his experiences aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery with a broader audience, using video footage of the mission on large overhead screens. After his presentation, Camarda met with students and other guests in the lobby outside the auditorium, taking questions and offering advice to students.