AFIT graduates Class of 2004

  • Published
  • By Kim Curry
  • Air Force Institute of Technology Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  More than 200 scientists and engineers received graduate and doctoral degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management held its 2004 graduation ceremony March 23 at the Air Force Museum. Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche delivered the commencement address.

The 84th graduating class was awarded 205 master’s degrees and four doctorates.

The 209 graduates included the school’s first enlisted students: eight Air Force and six Marine Corps senior noncommissioned officers.

“The addition of enlisted students at AFIT and the stand-up of the new center for systems engineering were initiatives actually spurred by Secretary Roche, and fulfill his vision of equipping airmen and the civilian workforce with science, technology and systems engineering skills,” said Col. David W. Eidsaune, AFIT commandant. “It was an honor to have him here to hand our students their diplomas himself.”

Air Force company grade officers comprised the majority of the Class of 2004; however, others included four Army officers, one Coast Guard officer, six civilians and five international students from Australia and South Korea. Women made up about 13 percent of the class.

Now that they have graduated, most will fill technical positions requiring advanced academic degrees in their respective fields of study from across the Department of Defense.

“I can assure you, in this increasingly complex and technical world, your education will prepare you to meet the challenges of the future,” Secretary Roche said. “The skills you have learned here … have armed you with the tools needed to meet these challenges head on. To succeed, you must be innovative, technically competent and creative -- in other words -- using all the capabilities that come from the solid education you received here at AFIT.”

Three students were recognized for their exemplary performance during their graduate studies.

The Commandant’s Award was presented to Capt. Matthew Welling for having the most exceptional individual master’s thesis research.

First Lt. Brent McBride received the Mervin E. Gross Award, named in honor of Brig. Gen. Mervin E. Gross, first commandant of the institute. The award is given for exceptional scholarship and high qualities of character, initiative and leadership.

The Edwin E. Aldrin Sr. Award was presented to Chief Master Sgt. Donald Clabaugh for demonstrating strong personal leadership and accomplishing AFIT’s education objectives in an outstanding manner. The award is named in honor of a student of the institute’s first graduating class and father of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)