5/23/2014 Susan Mumm, Media Specialist
Written by Susan Mumm, Media Specialist
In a rousing send-off, Aerospace Engineering alumnus and astronaut Michael Hopkins encouraged new University of Illinois graduates to define their own success when he delivered the 2014 Commencement Address on May 17.
Hopkins, recently returned from several months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), also delivered his post-mission presentation on campus on Friday, May 16.
While he was aboard ISS, Hopkins was connected via satellite to a live chat with AE students in October 2013.
Hopkins earned his bachelor's in 1991 in AE while also captaining the Illini football team. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1992 and was the first of the 14-member NASA Astronaut Class from 2009 to enter space. Hopkins was launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 25, 2013.
Hopkins delivered his presentation at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications on campus. The address is one of the highlights of the weekend trip to campus that will include him giving the Commencement Address for University of Illinois graduates on Saturday morning, May 17.
Hopkins earned his B.S. degree from Illinois in 1991 while also captaining the Illini football team. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1992 and was the first of the 14-member NASA Astronaut Class from 2009 to enter space. Hopkins was launched into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 25, 2013 and proudly celebrated his Illinois roots throughout the mission, tweeting from the address @AstroIllini.
- See more at: http://engineering.illinois.edu/news/article/8040#sthash.lXP76Sg0.dpuf