Kessler Endowment Adds Resource for Student Projects Kessler Endowment Adds Resource for Student Projects

7/11/2013 Susan Mumm

Student projects in Aerospace Engineering will get a boost from the newly established James J. Kessler, Jr., Endowment Fund.

Written by Susan Mumm

Student projects in Aerospace Engineering will get a boost from the newly established James J. Kessler, Jr., Endowment Fund.

The estate gift from the late Jim Kessler, who had earned his bachelor’s degree in AE in 1971 and had worked 32 years for McDonnell Douglas Corporation, comes at a time when the numbers of student-based projects and students involved in those projects are on the rise.

“The Department is very thankful for this very generous gift,” said AE Department Head Philippe Geubelle. “Over the past few years, we have placed an increased emphasis on the active participation of all our students in hands-on design/build/fly projects, especially those that involve competitions such as the NASA-sponsored lunar robotics competition, the US Launch Initiative, the rocketry competition sponsored by the Great Midwest Space Grant Consortia, the AIAA Remote Controlled Aircraft Competition, CubeSat, and so on.

“We believe that the active participation in this type of project complements very well the rigorous technical education that our students receive in our program,” Geubelle continued. “We look to further expand the number of hands-on projects and courses over the next few years, and the endowed gift from Mr. Kessler will help us provide the necessary resources to provide opportunities to all our students.”

The $157,000 gift designated for AE is one-third of the total Kessler Edowment, which has been divided among AE; Grainger Engineering Library; and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, particularly several of ACES’s University of Illinois Extension programs.

Jim Kessler was born on November 9, 1936, in Asheville, North Carolina. He returned with his parents to Illinois in the summer of 1939, where they settled in the town of Mounds, halfway between where his parents were raised. Kessler graduated from Mounds Township High School in 1954.

He enrolled in the University of Illinois that fall to study architecture, having won the competition for a county scholarship, but he withdrew after three semesters. This abbreviated university education, however, provided the background to be hired for a perfect job. McDonnell Aircraft Company hired Kessler in May 1956 as a Technical Specialist to analyze mass properties of missiles. This job continued for twelve years until it became clear that further advancements in salary grade level were impossible without a college education.

Kessler re-enrolled at the University of Illinois in June 1968 in the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (now AE) and graduated in February 1971. He attended graduate school in that Department until 1972.

McDonnell Douglas Corporation hired him in July 1972 as a structural analyst at their facility in Titusville, Florida. He worked in a variety of positions, culminating in managing research and development of shoulder-fired weapons. He was transferred to St. Louis in September 1988, the same year he became a member of the President’s Council of the University of Illinois Foundation. He retired in October of 1992, with 32 years of company service.

In 1994, he discovered a new interest in ornamental horticulture when he trained as a Master Gardener with the University of Illinois Extension, for which he served as a volunteer for 10 years.

Kessler passed away on August 14, 2012.


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This story was published July 11, 2013.