The Air Force Institute of Technology honored three 2005 Distinguished Alumni for their pioneering roles in science, engineering and education.

The institute honored Dr. Anthony K. Hyder, retired Army Lt. Gen. Leo Pigaty and retired Col. Howard M. McCoy Nov. 18.

“The title of ‘distinguished alumnus’ is the highest honor AFIT awards to a graduate, and we award very few,” said Brig. Gen. Mark Matthews, AFIT commandant.

“These three men are pioneers in science, research, development and acquisition, and are staunch supporters of the critical role education plays in enhancing the capabilities of our military,” the general said. “They are the epitome of an AFIT distinguished alumnus.”

Dr. Hyder received a master of science degree from the institute in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1971. He is the associate vice president for graduate studies and research, and a physics professor, at the University of Notre Dame. His achievements and commitment to advancing research and the Air Force led the secretary of the Air Force to award him the Air Force Award for Exceptional Civilian Service in 1994.

The doctor chaired the science panel of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and has also served with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Research and Technology Agency as a member-at-large on the sensors and technology panel. He also served on the NATO advisory group for aerospace research and development. The doctor is a member of the Defense Intelligence Agency advisory board and served on the Army Science Board.

General Pigaty was in the Army 33 years, retiring in 1994. His military career encompassed all aspects of logistics, research and development, and acquisition for the Army and the Defense Logistics Agency. His last post was as the deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Materiel Command. He then joined Los Alamos Technical Associates, Inc., responsible for the company’s defense business sector. He retired from the company in 2001 as a senior vice president and chief financial officer and is now an independent consultant. 

The general was a distinguished graduate from AFIT in 1971 with a master of science degree in logistics management with a 4.0 grade point average. His academic accomplishments and research results earned him the Gen. Edwin Rawlings Award for the most significant contributions to Department of Defense weapon system support programs. He served on a 2004 Army Science Board flag officer task force chartered to investigate Operation Iraqi Freedom intra-theater logistics distribution status and practices for U.S. Central Command. He has also been a member of the DOD Logistics Technology Advisory Board since 1995.

Colonel McCoy attended the Air Corps Engineering School from 1935 to 1936. After graduation from AFIT, he served in the engineering division at Wright Field, from 1936 to 1944, becoming chief of the propeller laboratory. He spent the remainder of his Air Force career in technical intelligence. After he retired from active duty in 1954, he consulted for a number of companies including Remington-Rand, Ramo-Woolridge, Curtis-Wright and the Marquardt Corporation. The colonel had a major role in the initiation of the DOD technical intelligence activity.

As World War II entered its final phases in Europe late in 1944, the colonel and a staff of 25 U.S. scientists and engineers at the Air Documents Research Center analyzed and categorized 250 tons of captured documents. The result was a pioneering effort in the creation of a centralized record of classified and unclassified information. In 1945, the cataloging effort was moved to Wright Field and the center eventually became the Defense Technical Information Center. In 1995, on its 50th anniversary, the defense center recognized Colonel McCoy as its founding father. In 1996, he was inducted as a Hall of Honor Member of the Freedom Through Vigilance Association.

“Tonight these men join the ranks with some of the finest Americans our country has ever produced,” General Matthews said. “As we celebrate the accomplishments of these three alumni, we are also celebrating the rich history of AFIT and the road these graduates, and thousands of others like them, have paved.”

The institute selected its first distinguished alumni in 1979: Col. Frank Borman, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, Col. George Holloman and Gen. Bernard Schriever. Since then, it has honored 23 others.