1/27/2015 Susan Mumm, Media Specialist
Written by Susan Mumm, Media Specialist
On the AE faculty for 26 years, Sivier died Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. He had retired in 1993, and had continued living in Mahomet, Illinois, near the university before his death.
D’Urso, currently Lecturer and Coordinator of AE’s Aerospace Systems Engineering Program, had worked with Sivier after D’Urso earned a master’s degree from AE in the late 1980s. D’Urso worked fulltime for McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis while earning the degree through a distance-learning program.
“Sivier taught design, aerodynamics and performance,” D’Urso said. “At work, I needed to put a training program together, and Sivier mentored me. Subsequently, I taught the course on campus to the senior design class. (Sivier and I) integrated real-life problems into the design class, and published a couple of them.”
Sivier and D’Urso worked with the students on designs for a multi-mission tactical aircraft, carrier resupply and wing-in-ground effect vehicles to name a few.
Sivier had gained practical experience by having worked in industry, including the McDonnell Aircraft Corp., before starting his academic career in 1967. Later, he had played a role in designing aerodynamics for the F15 Eagle fighter jet, “the standard air superiority fighter airplane for the US Air Force until 2000s with the introduction of the F-22,” according to D’Urso.
“Ken had real experience doing real airplanes: he was a design guy,” D’Urso said.
As a charter member of the International Council on Systems Engineering, Sivier urged D’Urso to join. “He encouraged me to get involved in the organization and my membership was number 100. Now we have about 10,000 members.”
Sivier was active in the Illinois Space Grant Consortium. He began the Illinois Aerospace Institute high school summer camp, now in its 23rd year. Sivier also served as faculty advisor for the student Design/Build/Fly project for several years.