Photo by Ian Czekela.

U.Va. engineers reach great heights — literally. Take Ian Czekala, a Rodman Scholar, Jefferson Scholar and first-year Engineering School student, for example. “I’ve always been interested in aviation,” said Czekala, who decided this year to make it a family affair. During the Czekalas’ annual father–son trip, the duo decided to visit Oshkosh, Wis., for AirVenture, the week-long Experimental Aviation Association’s (EAA) fly-in convention, held in July.

Founded in 1953 by Steve Poberenzy, this EAA event is the world’s largest annual convention of any kind, with more than 500 forums and seminars hosted by NASA researchers, aircraft designers and aviation enthusiasts. “This trip confirmed my intent to major in aerospace engineering,” said Czekala. “During my four years here, I would like to make it possible for all first-year Engineering School students considering an aerospace major to be able to attend this convention. It is fun, educational and inspirational — you really get a feel for what is possible in terms of aviation and space flight.”

Czekala is not alone in his interest in space travel. Due perhaps to the innate curiosity that first led them to engineering or the analytical and technical training they received here, many SEAS alumni (as well as faculty and staff) are pushing the atmospheric boundaries.

Take Kathryn Thornton (Physics ’79), associate dean for SEAS graduate programs, for example. Thornton holds a Ph.D. in physics from U.Va. and traveled more than 16 million miles in space during her 12 years as a NASA astronaut. Thornton flew four space missions — including the first Hubble Space Telescope Service Mission — and logged more than 975 hours in space and over 21 hours of extravehicular activity (space walking). She holds the women’s record for both quantity and duration of extravehicular activity.

Leland Melvin

Then there is Leland Melvin (MSE ’91), shown right, who worked for NASA Langley Research Center before joining the Astronauts Corps and serving at NASA Johnson Space Center in the robotics branch, a section intimately involved with return-to-flight efforts. Melvin will be part of the crew on a space shuttle mission slated for September 2007.

Currently there are almost 200 SEAS alumni involved in space exploration — and not all of them are inside the shuttles. Eric Anderson (Aero ’97) is the president and CEO of Space Adventures Ltd., the only company to have successfully launched private explorers to space. Headquartered in Arlington, Va., with offices in Cape Canaveral, Fla., as well as Moscow and Tokyo, Space Adventures Ltd. offers a variety of programs, such as Zero-Gravity and MiG flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs and reservations on future suborbital spacecraft. On October 1, 2005, Anderson’s company made the dream of one fellow SEAS alumnus a reality. On that date, scientist and entrepreneur Gregory H. Olsen (MSE ’71), became the world’s third citizen space explorer.

With an ever-growing list of SEAS alumni launching into the space exploration industry, it seems natural that Czekala’s summer trip would confirm his academic concentration choice: aerospace. Whether studying aviation design or blasting off into space, one thing is certain: U.Va. engineers continue to demonstrate that anything and everything is possible.