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[ Sound of church bells ]
>> France Cordova: Hi.
I'm France Cordova, and with this videocast we continue our
series of conversations with Purdue's astronaut alumni.
As you know, the University's engagement
with flight predates Amelia Earhart's arrival on campus.
In 1935, Amelia joined Purdue's faculty, serving as a counselor
in the study of careers for women
and an advisor in aeronautics.
The following year, she acquired a new Lockheed Electra airplane
which she called her flying laboratory.
It was purchased with funds from the Purdue Research Foundation,
and with her new airplane,
Amelia began planning a flight around the world.
Forty years later in 1975, Janice Voss graduated
from Purdue with a degree in Engineering Science
and a flight plan of her own.
Today, a NASA veteran of five space flights,
Dr. Voss has logged more than 49 days in space,
traveling 18.8 million miles and 779 earth orbits.
Listen to what Janice has to say about her Purdue experience.
>> Janice Voss: The reason I picked Purdue is
because they were head
and shoulders the friendliest of the universities.
They offered me a mentor; they sent me all kinds of information
about the dorms and the life, in addition to the curriculum,
and I just thought, wow, this is a place that I would be at home.
I mean, I was a freshman.
I loved school; I do very well in school.
And, of course, grade school, high school,
I'm a straight A student, right?
I get to Purdue, I'm enrolled in their Honors Physics class,
freshman class, get my first test back.
There was a big 60 on the top, right.
There was also a big A, but, you know, 60.
I had never gotten a 60 in my entire life.
There is no way that I should ever get a 60 on a test, right?
I head down to Freshman Engineering in a panic.
I'm going to flunk out of this university.
And they didn't laugh in my face, they were very supportive,
they offered me a mentor if I wanted one,
and very nicely calmed me down, you know helped me
through it, and it was easy.
I never felt like, you know, I was being sidelined
or being patronized or anything.
It was just, whatever I needed they were there.
So I'm back there once or twice a year, heavily talking
to women engineering students, which is an area, of course,
I can really be a mentor for,
but also other programs of different sorts.
What really excites me about Purdue right now, today,
is the new president, that we have France Cordova
who has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics which, I think,
is going to be spectacular for the University.
I enjoy the personal part of it, but I really am proud
of the technical excellence at Purdue,
and I think having a Ph.D. astrophysicist at the top
of the University really highlights that
and will attract even more of the brightest students.
And I'm looking forward
to having a chance to meet her again.
Right now the future of space exploration is heading towards
moon and Mars.
It will probably take longer, as it usually does,
because funding is always a challenge.
But that's a relatively near-term goal.
I would easily think the generation
of undergraduate students today can expect to be
on Mars before their career ends.
I think that would be just lovely.
I remember when I -- the day I was selected
as an astronaut I was actually on travel.
So the next morning I'm sitting in a rental car space waiting
for the bus to go to the airport, and I looked up
and there's the moon, and I remember thinking,
I'm going to be working with people that walked on the moon.
Can you imagine some student looking up and saying,
I'm going to be working with people that walked on Mars.
I mean, it's just amazing.
>> France Cordova: Janice exemplifies Purdue's commitment
to engagement, discovery, and learning.
Purdue will recommit itself to pursuing those themes
which were part of our last six-year strategic plan
as we draft the plan that will guide our next several years.
[ Silence ]