2014 Keynote Speaker
Terry Hart
Dr. Hart began his career at Bell Telephone Laboratories after graduating from Lehigh University in 1968 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. A year later, he took a 4 year leave-of-absence with the US Air Force flying over 3200 hours in high-performance fighters over his career. After returning from active duty with the Air Force in 1973, he went back to work at Bell Labs, receiving two patents for his work.
In January 1978, Hart was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate, and after a year of training and evaluation was assigned as a Mission Control Capcom for the first three Space Shuttle launches. On April 6th, 1984, he lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the Challenger, during which he was responsible for the first orbital rendezvous of the program, the Remote Manipulator System operation, and the filming of the IMAX feature, The Dream is Alive! The mission objectives of deploying the Long Duration Exposure Facility and repairing the Solar Maximum Mission Satellite were successfully accomplished and demonstrated new capabilities in manned space flight.
Hart then held a variety of technical management positions at Bell Labs and led several projects in systems and software engineering, and then became Director of Satellite Engineering and Operations for AT&T Skynet. This directorship leads him to become President of Loral Skynet for several years until his retirement in 2004. Hart currently teaches aerospace engineering and conducts research in spacecraft dynamics at Lehigh University. He has received a a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Rutgers University in 1978, and an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from Lehigh University in 1988.
Dr. Hart is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Tau Beta Pi engineering society, the Sigma Xi scientific society, and the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame. Hart has been awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the NASA Space Flight Medal, the Delta Upsilon Medallion, the Rutgers University Medal, the Pride of Pennsylvania Medal, and was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1994 and Lehigh University’s Distinguished Alumni in 2013.
