1/19/06 Contact: David M. Granger, 334/844-9999 (grangdm@auburn.edu)
Achilles Armenakis, 334/844-6506 (armenac@auburn.edu)

SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER’S WHISTLE-BLOWER TO LECTURE AT AUBURN

AUBURN - Roger Boisjoly, who exposed the truth about the disastrous decision to launch the space shuttle Challenger 20 years ago, will be a guest lecturer in the Auburn University College of Business Jan. 24-26.

Boisjoly will visit as a 2006 James T. Pursell Sr. Distinguished Fellow in Management Ethics. He also served as the 2001 Pursell Fellow.

The Challenger flight, launched on Jan. 28, 1986, became one of the greatest tragedies in American space exploration when it exploded 73 seconds after lift-off and killed all seven crew members on board.

Boisjoly had been a technical troubleshooter on the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster Program and recommended and defended the original no-launch decision of Challenger because of concerns over the O-rings. Under perceived pressure from NASA, Morton Thiokol management overruled the warnings of Boisjoly and his fellow engineers, and changed their initial recommendation, telling NASA that launch could continue as planned.

Boisjoly’s testimony during the investigation of the disaster was vital in explaining the decision by Morton Thiokol and NASA managers to launch Challenger. He received the 1987 Presidential Award from the National Space Society for Professional Integrity and Personal Courage as well as the 1990 Engineering Ethics Award from the National Academy of Forensic Engineers.

Today, Boisjoly remains active, frequently lecturing at universities throughout the world on topics such as organizational behavior and ethics. While on the AU campus, Boisjoly will speak to a host of undergraduate and graduate classes. The public is invited to attend his lectures.

On Monday, Jan. 23, from 8 to 10 p.m. CT, the National Geographic Channel presents Challenger: The Untold Story. The two-hour special portrays the events and decisions leading up to the ill-fated launch and features Boisjoly.

The James T. Pursell Sr. Distinguished Fellow in Ethics Program is funded by an endowment established by James T. Pursell Sr. The endowment also supports an Eminent Scholar in Ethics, Achilles Armenakis. Pursell is Chairman of Pursell Technologies, Incorporated (PTI) in Sylacauga, Ala. The Pursell name is synonymous with fertilizers of the future. PTI, the world's largest producer of coated fertilizer, manufactures the revolutionary controlled release fertilizer with PolyonTM coating.

Auburn University is a preeminent land-grant and comprehensive research institution with more than 23,000 students and 6,500 faculty and staff. Ranked among the top 50 public universities nationally, Auburn is Alabama’s largest educational institution, offering more than 230 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs.

(Contributed by Dina Kanellos.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boisjoly will be available to meet with the media at certain times while at Auburn. To secure time for an interview or to get specific times and locations of his lectures, please call David Granger at 334/844-9999.

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