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Thomas McElmurry

Thomas McElmurry  is recognized for his achievements during his exceptional careers in the military, industry and academia.  McElmurry began his lifelong passion for flying in the Army Air Corp, which later became the United States Air Force.  While in the Air Force he was a test pilot, and later the Operations Officer at Edwards Air Force Base Test Pilot School.  McElmurry, along with such well known individuals as Frank Borman, Buck Buchanan, and Jim McDivitt developed the training curriculum for the Air Force’s first Aerospace Research Pilot program, and were among its first graduating class.  McElmurry retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, and then joined NASA, where he held many roles, including Chief of Flight Crew Operations in the Office of Manned Space Flight in Washington, D.C., and Chief, Orbiter Atmospheric Flight Test Office, Director of Flight Crew Operations working on SkyLab at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  After retiring from NASA, McElmurry became an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University where he taught for 13 years.