Below is a short list of OU alumni who have left their imprint on the aviation, defense and aerospace industries. If you know of others we should recognize, please share them to soonermagazine@oufoundation.org.

Aviation

Lindy Ritz, OU ’71 BS home econ, was a longtime director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City and retired as acting vice president for technical training for the Federal Aviation Administration’s U.S. Air Traffic Organization.

Grayson Ardies, OU ’09 BS Atm and Geo Sci, is executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics and serves on the OU School of Aviation Advisory Board.

Eric Gaffney, OU ’10 BS Atm and Geo Sci, is a United Airlines pilot and children’s book author. His book, Airick Flies High, tells the story of an airplane with one wing shorter than the other. Gaffney says the book “is symbolic of my life and career as a one-handed pilot.”

Defense

headed a team that designed the next-generation Missile Defense System, often known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. Foote served on OU’s faculty for 30 years and was twice director of the School of Industrial Engineering. He frequently taught at the U.S. Military Academy, for which he received the U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. 

Jarrod Calhoun, OU ’04 BS mech eng, is chief engineer of Boeing Special Projects Dallas on behalf of Boeing Defense. Calhoun, who received OU’s Regent’s Alumni Award in 2023, gives generously of his time as the Boeing/OU executive deputy for all university engagement activities.

The late Brian Bent, OU ’08 aero eng, worked for 17 years for Northrop Grumman on the B-2 Spirit, F-35 Lightning II and a classified project unveiled after Brian’s death as the B-21 Raider.

Aerospace

The late Mareta N. West, OU ’37 BS geol, was NASA’s first female astrogeologist and selected the landing site for Apollo 11.

The late Owen Morris, OU ’47 BS mech eng, ’48 MS aero eng, joined the Space Task Group in the earliest days of the space program to work on the Apollo program. He became chief of reliability and quality assurance for NASA and chief of the Lunar Module Project Engineering Division—developing specifications for the Apollo lunar modules, including Apollo 11 and 13.

Benton Clark III, OU ’59 BS phy, developed instruments for the Viking program mission to Mars. At Lockheed Martin, his designs resulted in spacecraft flown to the moon, Mars and Jupiter. He continues to participate in NASA’s Mars rover missions as a senior research scientist with the Space Science Institute.

The late Donald Puddy, OU ’60 BS mech eng, supervised the Apollo missions, Skylab and early space shuttle missions as NASA’s 10th flight director.

The late Gene Nora Jessen, OU ’61 BA Engl, was one of only 13 subjects who completed testing for the “Women in Space” program 22 years before women were sent into space by NASA.

Donna Shirley, OU ’63 BA journ and ’65 BS aero eng and former assistant dean of OU’s Gallogly College of Engineering, was program manager for the NASA team that landed the first Mars Rover in 1997.

Jerry Elliott-High Eagle, OU ’65 BS phy, was a guidance engineer for NASA’s Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs and the first Native American hired by NASA. He and fellow Mission Control operations team members received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Marcos Stocco, OU ’98 BS in Comp Sci, BA in Phil., served 14 years as a Flight Controller (Attitude & Pointing Officer) in Mission Control in Houston at the Johnson Space Center, supporting Space Shuttle, Space Station, and other Space Vehicle missions. The recipient of multiple awards, including NASA’s prestigious Space Flight Awareness Award, Stocco is currently Director of Software Development for Canary at Quest Consultants, Inc., in Norman, OK.

Stephen Loftus-Mercer, OU '00 BS in Comp Sci., is Principal Software Engineer for SpaceX and Director of Operations & Ground Control Software and recently attended SpaceX's Falcon9 Launch. 

• Ryan East, OU '08 BS Aero Eng., is a NASA ISO Flight Controller and Astronaut Instructor. He was featured in a 2023 official NASA video shared with viewers through YouTube and LinkedIn. East also received the 2019 OU Young Engineering Alumni-Pursuit of Excellence Award.
  

Jesse Berdis, OU ’11 BS arch eng, ’13 MS civil eng, is the deputy project manager for NASA’s Mobile Launcher 1 Element Artemis 11, part of the Exploration Ground Systems Program at Kennedy Space Center.

• Hunter Pemberton, OU '18 BS aero eng., is Manufacturing Engineer Level II Lead, Rocket Engine Machining & Final Assembly, for Blue Origin. He served as a keynote speaker for OU's 2023 Engineer's Week.

Ryan Cowdrey, OU ’19 BS mech eng and ’20 MS mech eng and Blake Herren, OU ’18 MS aero eng and ’21 Ph.D. mech eng, founded Raven Space Systems, a startup company producing 3-D-printed re-entry capsules for on-demand space cargo return. Their work has been funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Air Force.

J.R. Cruz, OU’s Tilley Chair in Electrical Engineering and director of the Gallogly College of Engineering’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, helped create the re-entry navigation system for the first two space shuttle missions.