LUBBOCK, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) – The following is a news release from Texas Tech University:
An undergraduate teaching laboratory in Texas Tech University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, located in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, will be named the Charles H. Feltz Controls Systems Laboratory after alumnus Charles H. Feltz.
Feltz, a 1940 mechanical engineering graduate and a 1967 Distinguished Engineer, had an extensive career in aeronautical design. He was responsible for planning and directing the development and fabrication of the Apollo Command Service Module.
The undergraduate teaching lab aligns with Feltz’s career by providing the hands-on experience critical to many autonomous systems, such as aircraft and spaceflight control and navigation systems.
After a $400,000 donation from Feltz’s daughter, Jennifer Wortzman, and her husband, Mitchell Wortzman, the naming of the lab was approved by the Board of Regents [on Thursday] (Feb. 27).
“From my years in the astronaut office at NASA, I knew Charles H. Feltz was a leader in developing the original control system and protocols for the Apollo capsule,” said Al Sacco Jr., dean of the College of Engineering. “When Dr. and Mrs. Wortzman told me they wanted to honor Mrs. Wortzman’s dad, it was just right that the new mechanical engineering controls laboratory should bear his name. Our students will recognize that one of their own, a Red Raider, helped humankind begin its exploration of space. I could not be prouder and more pleased with this recognition for Mr. Feltz.”
(News release from Texas Tech University)
