Richard H. Truly, a 1959 aeronautical engineering graduate, astronaut and former director of NASA, has been named head of the Georgia Tech Research Institute and a Tech vice president.
He was nominated for the post by President John P. Crecine and Executive Vice President Michael Thomas, and confirmed by the Board of Regents on Nov. 11. Truly, who succeeds retiring director Donald Grace, expects to begin his new job on Dec. 1.
In making the announcement, President Crecine said, "Admiral Truly brings a wealth of leadership experience in an organization-NASA-that emphasizes scientific and engineering research and development, with an extraordinary concern for developing 'dual-use' technologies-developments that have commercial and civilian uses as well as scientific, military and space-related merit.
"Dick Truly is a man who has exhibited humanity, calm and decency in the high-pressure and sometimes-vicious world of the federal government. He represents exactly the kind of seasoned leadership we need for GTRI and Georgia Tech research at this time in our history."
"I am absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to come back to Tech and work here," said Truly, a former space shuttle commander and retired vice admiral. "Georgia Tech is a great school, it's a great engineering school. GTRI is a well-known, good research organization."
GTRI conducts research for a host of government agencies and private business. With approximately 670 full-time research faculty and 800 support personnel, GTRI received contracts worth $99 million last year. In the 16 years that Grace has been director, the dollar total of GTRI contracts has grown ten-fold, establishing GTRI as one of the leading such institutes in the nation.
A native of Fayette, Miss., Truly served with a carrier-haled fighter squadron from 1960 to 1963. He was an astronaut in the Air Force manned orbiting-lab program from 1965 until 1969, when he became a NASA astronaut.
He was a member of the two-man crews conducting landing tests of the space shuttle prototype Enterprise in 1977. In 1981, Truly piloted Columbia on the second shuttle mission. Two years later he commanded Challenger in the first night liftoff and landing of the spacecraft.
Truly was head of the Navy Space Command when the Challenger explosion in January 1986 brought NASA's manned-flight program to a tragic halt. He was recalled to the agency as associate administrator for space flight, where he led the recovery team and headed efforts to re-design the shuttle boosters and revamp safety procedures. In 1989, he was picked by President George Bush to head NASA, the first astronaut to hold that post. He resigned this past February in a policy dispute with the White House.
Since graduation, Truly has maintained close ties to Tech, most recently serving as a member of the AE Advisory Committee. He said that he was attracted to the GTRI post for a number of reasons.
"I thoroughly enjoy being around students and young people, so that is attractive to me," Truly said. "And, frankly, Tech is changing and is looking to the future. That also is attractive, because I have always dealt in work that looks to the future rather than the past."
And Truly is optimistic about the future, despite a growing scarcity of research dollars for universities.
"The whole country is in a tough economic time, but I think this tide will turn. It's very critical right now that we don't turn away from research, so in future years we have the benefits of the technologies that research can bring to bear.
"You can't sit on your hands, because other countries will develop the technology eventually. It's important that the United States have universities and organizations that are capable of staying on the cutting edge."