Students Hear Firsthand Account of Space Programs
University of Scranton alumnus Thomas Tate, Esq. ’56, visited to campus and toured the exhibit “New Frontiers: The Thomas N. Tate, Esq. ’56 Collection of Aerospace Memorabilia,” which he donated to the University. The collection will be permanently displayed in the new 5,300 square-foot, state-of-the-art learning and laboratory space for the Mechanical Engineering program in Hyland Hall.University of Scranton alumnus Thomas Tate, Esq. ’56, spoke to students majoring in physics and engineering during his Oct. 14th visit to campus and toured the exhibit “New Frontiers: The Thomas N. Tate, Esq. ’56 Collection of Aerospace Memorabilia,” which he donated to the University. The collection of items accumulated during his service with the national aerospace program from 1962 through 2003 was displayed in the new 5,300 square-foot, state-of-the-art learning and laboratory space for the Mechanical Engineering program on the first floor of Hyland Hall.
“I know that with philanthropy comes promise and possibilities. I want the next generation of explorers to receive a Catholic and Jesuit education that takes them to discovering their great frontier. Together, our support can redirect their future in ways unimagined,” said Tate of his donation to the University.
Tate spoke to University students at The Institute for Electronics and Electrical Engineering Seminar Series about his personal experience with the aerospace program, which included work on the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle initiatives.
A native of Olyphant, Tate received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University in 1956. His distinguished career spanned four decades, during which he held positions with Rockwell International for 12 years; the federal government, serving on the House of Representatives’ Committee on Science and Technology for 15 years; and an advocacy group, working for the Aerospace Industries Association for 17 years.
His collection will have a permanent home in the mechanical engineering facility in Hyland Hall. The renovated space includes three laboratories, a workshop, a machine shop, and a 16-seat computer lab, as well as faculty offices and a student lounge area. In the facility, mechanical engineering students will experiment with several pieces of equipment in solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, control, dynamics and vibration labs. Students, like aerospace scientists, will work with a wind tunnel, where they will determine important fluid characteristics by measuring aerodynamics pressures, forces and moments applied to aerodynamics models such as airfoil models by the airflow in laminar and turbulent flows. They will also investigate the behavior of engineering materials by performing precise tensile and compression tests to determine material properties such as strength, modulus of elasticity, yield and failure stresses of standard engineering materials.
In addition to mechanical engineering, which the University began to offer in the fall of 2020, other majors offered by the University’s Physics and Engineering Department include computer engineering, electrical engineering, engineering management, biophysics and physics.
