Norman Augustine—Engineer, Businessman, STEM Advocate—To Speak at Michigan Tech Spring Commencement

Norman Augustine, who will speak at Michigan Technological University’s upcoming Spring Commencement April 30, is an outspoken advocate of more and better education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics—the STEM fields.  It’s what the US needs to be competitive in the global, high-tech marketplace of the 21st century, he says. And he knows what he’s talking about.

An aeronautical engineer and businessman himself, Augustine chaired a National Academies committee that issued a watershed report on America’s failings in STEM education.  The report, titled  “Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future,” outlined what the country needs to do “to compete in this rough and tumble global environment.” It forms the foundation for recent efforts to attract more students to the STEM fields and to improve STEM education, long a cornerstone of Michigan Tech’s mission.

Augustine is the former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin and Martin Marietta Corporations. He has served as assistant secretary, undersecretary and acting secretary of the US Army.   

He headed the National Academy of Engineering, the Aerospace Industries Association, the Defense Science Board, the American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts of America.

Augustine has received the National Medal of Technology from the President of the United States and the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also received the US Department of Defense’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, five times.

Michigan Tech will recognize the featured speaker with an honorary Doctorate of Science and Engineering. 

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.