[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 99 (Monday, June 12, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF T. DWAYNE McCAY, Ph.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL POSEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 12, 2017

  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the accomplishments of 
Dr. Dwayne McCay who currently serves as the President of Florida 
Institute of Technology. Dr. McCay is a renowned engineer and research 
scientist who was recently named Fellow of the National Academy of 
Inventors class of 2016--a highly prestigious professional distinction.
  Dwayne McCay grew up in the cotton fields of northeast Arkansas with 
a passion for literature. In the late 1950's and early 1960's, as the 
world witnessed space exploration for the first time with the launch of 
Sputnik, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and Astronaut Alan Shepard, Dwayne 
found himself looking toward the stars like so many youth at that time, 
including myself. He and his young friends founded a rocket society in 
1961--WOMC (Wike, Oldham, McCay and Crowell)--and they had three 
successful launches of their homemade rockets with McCay acting as the 
propellant engineer.
  Dwayne went on to achieve a Ph.D. in engineering and mathematics from 
Auburn University. He pursued a career as a research engineer with ARO, 
Inc., then as a senior research physical scientist with the Air Force 
Rocket Propulsion Laboratory. He went on to become a senior engineer at 
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, being elevated to branch chief, 
and later division chief.
  Prior to serving as President of F.I.T., Dr. McCay served as Provost 
and Chief Academic Officer at the Florida Institute of Technology and 
became Florida Tech's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating 
Officer (COO) in January 2011. Dr. McCay was previously at The 
University of Tennessee Space Institute, where he served as Alumni 
Distinguished Service Professor of Engineering Science and Program 
Chair of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and was chosen in a 
national search in 1993 as the chief executive officer for the campus.
  He and his wife, Dr. Mary Helen McCay, also an accomplished inventor 
and engineer, hold 15 joint U.S. patents in the area of metallurgical 
engineering. Together they have authored approximately 200 technical 
publications and, in 1998, achieved the national honor from the U.S. 
Department of Energy's American Museum of Science and Energy for their 
technological achievements.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Dr. Dwayne McCay, as 
well as Dr. Mary Helen McCay and the dedicated faculty at F.I.T., for 
their contributions to science and engineering, and for their 
commitment to inspiring young minds and future scientists of our 
nation.

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