A Spirit of Service: Purdue University and the United States Military is a richly illustrated, comprehensive look at the intersection of this great land-grant university and the US military since classes first began in 1874. Spearheaded by the Purdue University College of Engineering in recognition of its 150th anniversary, this book examines how Purdue Boilermakers have played a consequential role in defending democracy, freedom, and independence in times of war and great duress.

Pioneering Purdue contributions include more than one hundred faculty working on the Manhattan Project, learning how to better cool machine gun barrels, and making radar practical - all during World War II - as well as the transition from vacuum tubes to semiconductors, Dorothy Stratton advancing the role of women in the military, the founding of the National Society of Black Engineers, the first School of Engineering Education, the first university airport, and, most famously, Neil Armstrong, a US Navy officer and Purdue alumnus, and the first human to set foot on the moon.

Today Purdue is at the forefront of drones, hypersonics, energetics, artificial intelligence, space exploration, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and much more. In fact, approximately one-third of US spaceflights have included a Boilermaker astronaut, and many of those alumni served in the military. This large number of astronauts partially stems from a Purdue Air Force Academy program to provide advanced degrees to graduating officers.

A Spirit of Service tells the stories of men and women who lived this history, from ROTC students to a Medal of Honor recipient, from soldiers at the front during the Great War to a man who witnessed the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, from a pilot who led thousands of planes in bombing missions over Germany during World War II to military astronauts, from trailblazing female officers and pilots to twenty-first-century teachers and researchers who are creating the future. This volume records the stories of Purdue men and women whose patriotism, leadership, and heroism have preserved life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for generations of Americans - past, present, and future.

About the Author
John Norberg is an Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame writer who is retired from Purdue University and the Lafayette (IN) Journal and Courier, where he wrote a newspaper column for more than forty-one years and was an award-winning news and feature reporter, receiving more than fifty state and national awards. This is his ninth book. He has written articles for the Saturday Evening Post, USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor, and Time magazine. He was interviewed on CBS News Sunday Morning, NPR's Big Picture Science, and many newspapers, radio, and television shows. He received the Purdue for Life Foundation Special Boilermaker Award and the Block P Award from Purdue Bands and Orchestras.


Book Information
ISBN 9781612499765
Author John Norberg
Format Hardback
Page Count 424
Imprint Purdue University Press
Publisher Purdue University Press