School of Engineering and Applied Sciences University at Buffalo The State University of New York

SUNY Honorary Doctorate of Science, Commencement, May 10, 2003

Joseph P. Allen

This year, University at Buffalo nominee Dr. Joseph P. Allen is a recipient of an honorary Doctor of Science from the Trustees of the State University of New York. The honorary doctorate degree is the highest form of recognition offered by the Trustees to persons of exceptional distinction. It is awarded to: recognize excellence in the fields of public affairs, the sciences, humanities and the arts, scholarship and education, business and philanthropy, and social services which exemplify the mission and purposes of the State University of New York; honor meritorious and outstanding service to the University, the State of New York, the United States, or to humanity at large; and recognize persons whose lives serve as examples of the University’s aspirations for its students.

Dr. Joseph P. Allen is the Chairman of the Board of Veridian Corporation. Veridian is an advanced information technology company specializing in decision support and knowledge management, information systems and communications, modeling and simulation, systems integration, and engineering and analysis. A public company (NYSE: VNX) with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, Veridian leverages its capabilities in five sectors: information, space, aeronautics, transportation, and life sciences. Veridian’s nearly 8,000 employees serve their customers at more than 60 locations in the U.S. and overseas.

Prior to his responsibility with Veridian, Dr. Allen served as a guest research associate at Brookhaven National Laboratory, then as a member of the physics faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. In 1967, NASA selected Allen as a member of its class of Scientist-Astronauts, a position he held until 1985. While at NASA, Dr. Allen served as a mission controller for Apollo 15, Apollo 17 and Space Shuttle flight STS-1. He later flew as an astronaut aboard “Columbia” (STS-5), the first space shuttle mission to carry cargo to orbit, and then aboard “Discovery” (STS-14), the only mission to date to salvage cargo from orbit.

During his NASA career, Allen also served as Assistant Administrator of NASA from 1975-1978 and as Director of Astronaut Training and Operations in the early 1980s. Dr. Allen holds a M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University, and an undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics from DePauw University. He is the author of Entering Space: An Astronaut’s Odyssey, a personal account of the space flight experience, and he has published widely in the fields of physics and space research. In addition to his responsibilities with Veridian Corporation, Dr. Allen serves as director of United Space Alliance, Houston, Texas; director of Actioneer, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts; trustee of National Outdoor Leadership School, Lander, Wyoming, and as the Chairman of the Challenger Center, a charitable organization sponsoring Space Science Education projects in North America and England.

A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Allen’s awards include the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the Wilber Cross Medal from Yale University, the Walter P. Cooke Award from the University at Buffalo and the Lloyd’s of London Silver Medal for Meritorious Services. He is also an inductee into the U. S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma.