for the News-Tribune
ROCKET CENTER, W.Va. — The West Virginia University (WVU) Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering recently conducted their 2009 Academy of Distinguished Alumni ceremony at the Morgantown (WV) campus.
ATK’s Keith Funkhouser was one of two alumni recognized and inducted into the Academy this year.
Funkhouser joins 32 other alumni in the Academy, including West Virginia native and retired NASA astronaut Jon McBride, who captained the Challenger on flight STS 41-G in 1984.
“I feel very honored and humbled that my peers would recognize my accomplishments in aerospace engineering over the last 25 years. I’ve enjoyed my career with Hercules and ATK and the challenges I’ve faced on a daily basis while developing rocket motors for tactical missile systems,” Funkhouser said.
“Knowing that our warfighters rely on our products to work correctly every time has inspired me in my engineering career to approach each day with a commitment to do my best.”
The Academy was founded to recognize alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers and brought honor to themselves and their alma mater through excellence in the practice of engineering and engineering management. Additionally, many inductees have contributed generously of their time and talent to their communities and worthwhile civic causes.
Funkhouser received his bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering in 1982 and is currently vice president of ABL Operations at ATK Tactical Propulsion and Controls located in Rocket Center.
He joined Hercules at Allegany Ballistics Laboratory in March 1983, and has since worked 22 years in the Engineering and Programs departments prior to being transferred to ATK’s Elkton, Md., facility in 2005.
During those 22 years, he worked many programs from the engineering side that included SRAM II, SFW, Titan IV, and VFDR, among many others. While on the programs side, he was program manager for AIM-9X Sidewinder, AIM-9M Sidewinder, Sparrow and RAM. Prior to being transferred to Elkton, he was director of tactical and composite programs.
Funkhouser was brought back to ABL in April 2007 and is the first Mineral County native named to head the ABL facility.
ROCKET CENTER, W.Va. —
