Part 4: An Army Vet on the Faculty at Georgia Tech 2/4/2021

by Dr. Jim Herod

In the 1950’s, Georgia Tech was known as a damn good engineering school. Students who studied at Tech needed applied mathematics. Good physics and chemistry, too. In order to attract the faculty they wanted, the math department had started offering degrees in mathematics before I got there.

I was invited to visit campus during the Spring of my last year in the Army. By then, I was a Captain and, I confess, I wore my uniform while flying from Albuquerque to Atlanta and back because sometimes I would be bumped up to first class when in uniform.

I was surprised that my invitation to visit campus did not include a request to give a colloquium lecture. I figured failure to tell me of that expectation was an oversight, so I prepared one. I planned to talk generalities of earlier high altitude testing programs and of observations. I would explain that details of my current work were classified. And I would explain the kind of mathematical analysis I would want to work on after leaving the Army and of continuing work with the DOD.

I was not asked to give a talk. I met deans and vice presidents, and had dinner that evening in Atlanta with a few of the faculty. Years later, I asked the man who had been chairman why I was not asked to give a talk. “We wanted to be able to tell the legislature that we hired a veteran,” he said. “You, we decided to keep.” He laughed. I smiled.

In time, I moved up with the usual faculty responsibilities. As graduate coordinator, I wanted military people coming to graduate school in mathematics at Georgia Tech. Think about it, contrary to the usual graduate students, we would not have to provide financial support for the military guys and gals!

After I retired, I had one more opportunity. Georgia Tech asked me to film 45 lectures for students who had been away from academics, wanted to come to graduate school, and needed a review. I would be asked to be available on the internet an hour a day for discussions and questions about the film. I chose more: three times a day. What an opportunity! Think of the navy guy in a submarine who would disappear for several days and them pop up with lots of material for me and from me. And, there was the Air Force pilot who sent me photos as he flew over the polar regions. I could see his reflection in the cockpit windows and saw that he did not have on his oxygen mask. Imagine the fun I had chewing him out! (He laughed with me.)

Here’s the upshot: if you are in the military and have graduate degrees, find ways to take advantage of your knowledge and experience. If you are military and are considering further academic work, seek out guys and gals who can serve as mentors in your undertaking.

Dr. Jim Herod served in the Army from 1964-1966, was a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy from 1981-1982, and is a professor emeritus at Georgia Tech.