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Georgia Tech research faculty established an on-site presence at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., in 1978 to support U.S. Army missile technology. In February, the Georgia Tech Research Institute commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Huntsville Research Laboratory.
Since its modest beginning as "Huntsville Operations," the laboratory's impact has branched out into a variety of defense fields. Its location on a key Army installation has helped enhance communication between GTRI and its military stakeholders.
"Our Huntsville Research Laboratory is an extremely important part of our overall strategy," said Stephen E. Cross, GTRI's director and a Georgia Tech vice president. "It has delivered outstanding technical assistance and real innovation on a consistent basis, which is reflected in the positive feedback we get from our stakeholders."
The lab's milestone was celebrated at a Feb. 26 Huntsville event that drew some 200 attendees, including Georgia Tech officials, researchers and alumni and representatives from the Army and other U.S. military branches.
President Wayne Clough presented a GTRI award to William McCorkle, executive director of the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center and an early proponent of a permanent GTRI presence in Huntsville. McCorkle is the first recipient of the GTRI Award for Exceptional Innovation and Leadership.
Clough said the award celebrates McCorkle's "bold solution — to bring in Georgia Tech to Huntsville and established the permanent presence of GTRI engineers at Redstone Arsenal."
Today, the lab focuses on software engineering and system engineering for a variety of U.S. Department of Defense programs, said Barry Bullard, the lab's director.
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