Thursday, September 25, 2008
Birthday Symposium This day-long symposium will celebrate GALCIT's 80-year history and highlight the achievements of our alumni. That evening there will be a gala banquet at the Athenaeum which will include the Aerospace Historical Society's presentation of the "International von Kármán Wings Award".

Thursday Evening, September 25, 2008
von Kármán Wings Award The Aerospace Historical Society, now part of GALCIT, has a rich 23-year heritage in recognition and preservation of the history of world-renowned aerospace pioneers, and in honoring many of these individuals with the International von Kármán Wings Award. This year, the recipient of the Wings Award is Dr. Alexis Livanos (Caltech alumnus: BS '70 ENG, MS '73 ES, PhD '75 ES), President of Northrop Grumman Space Technology, and chair of the GALCIT advisory council.

Given that the 2008 award will be bestowed very close to the 50th anniversary of U.S. involvement in space, this year the Society has decided to select an honoree whose achievements center on space-science and technology. In addition, it was felt that this honor should recognize someone with a strong interest in space-related engineering education, an area which by all accounts needs strengthening in our country. Livanos's work and vision in this area perfectly complement his exceptional technical achievements and leadership at Northrop Grumman.

The presentation of the International von Kármán Wings Award to Dr. Livanos will occur at a gala banquet and awards ceremony at the Athenaeum on September 25th. The program for the evening is currently being developed and our expectations for the Society's 24th celebration are for a most memorable evening. The date for the awards dinner has been selected to be at the center of a two-day event on September 25–26, 2008, celebrating GALCIT's 80th Birthday and the completion of the Phase II Renovation of the historic Guggenheim Building.

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Friday, September 26, 2008
Guggenheim Re-opening We will celebrate the completion of Phase II of the Guggenheim renovations with a dedication ceremony, where Caltech president Jean-Lou Chameau and the GALCIT donors will officially re-open the building. This ceremony will be followed by GALCIT lab tours, a student poster session, and a celebratory lunch with students, faculty, and visitors in Dabney Gardens. GALCIT's director, Ares Rosakis, will conclude the event with a lunch presentation on the future of GALCIT.

Almost ten years ago, and following the removal of GALCIT's historic 10-foot wind tunnel, Phase I of the renovation of the GALCIT buildings was undertaken by Hans Hornung, the fourth Director of GALCIT. The first phase involved extensive seismic upgrades (as has Phase II), and building renovation in Guggenheim. Phase II began in June 2007, and will bring thousands of square feet of new work and lab space to Guggenheim, as well as a renovation of the second floor of the Karman building.

The Phase II renovation of Guggenheim has created much-needed new lab space for research and education. The new laboratories include the Laboratory of Large Space Structures, the Gordon Cann Laboratory of Experimental Innovation, the Allen Puckett Laboratory of Computational Fluid Mechanics, and the Joe Charyk Laboratory of Bio-Engineering (in the Karman building).

The architects for the project are John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, Inc.

Please click here for a brief summary of the plans. (3 page PDF)

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