By Bruce Auld News Review Contributor– Mighty Burros, I hadn’t thought about writing articles on Burroughs’s eight decades, but here they are. Due to print limitations—about 1,000 words and two photos—some of the profiles in the book won’t be included in these articles but can still be found in the book. I remain in awe of Burrough’s graduates and program achievements.
Military first, after all, China Lake is a Navy Station. Appointments to military academies are best presented in summary. The first Burro appointed was Vic Vieweg (1952-Navy) and the most recent is Andrew Bui (2024-Navy). Eight Burros have attended West Point, thirteen appointments to Annapolis, nine appointments to the Air Force Academy and five appointments to the Coast Guard Academy. Many more Burros gained officer status through University ROTC and Officer’s Candidate School, including the Honorable Juan Garcia III (1984- Assistant Secretary of the Navy). Liz Knemeyer Ruth (1977) was a trailblazer, commander of the USC ROTC and one of the first female military pilots. Two Burros earned admiral status: RAdm Joseph Castillo (1974-Coast Guard) and RAdm Steve Parode (1980-Navy). Six Burros would be casualties in Vietnam: Robert Ellison, Raymond Wilson, Ernie Davidove, Tim Rizzardini, John Pinney and Ralph Foulkes, Jr.
Although a Navy Station, China Lake is a scientific Center of Excellence. Likely Robert Rockwell (1953), with a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford, was the first Burro scientist to return to work at China Lake. Although some Burroughs science students returned to the Valley, such as Monte Frisbee (1960) and Kristen Highberg Berry (1960), many more followed scientific careers outside the Valley. Dr. Fred Gey would create search engines for scientists in multiple languages. Dr. Don Davis was a professor of chemistry yet became an expert on the relationships between agricultural practices and nutrition. Dr. Florence Haseltine earned both a PhD (MIT) and an MD (Albert Einstein). On the Yale faculty, Florence was an expert on in vitro fertilization, contributing to various medical fields for decades and currently serves with Anajane Gey (1960) at the University of Texas, Arlington. Anajane Gey was instrumental in establishing the National Marrow Donor Program. Dr. William Haseltine (1962) would earn his PhD at Harvard University and become a professor of medical science at Harvard University, head of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, HIV/AIDS expert, CEO of Human Genomes Sciences and CEO of ACCESS Health International. Dr. Haseltine continues to conduct medical research and publish his findings. Dr. Haseltine’s association with actress and activist Elizabeth Taylor in the mid-1980s resulted in sufficient federal funding that resulted in treatments for HIV/AIDS.
And then came the astrophysicists: Dr. Richard Pogge (1979) is a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at Ohio State University and textbook author. I have it, but I can’t comprehend it. Dr. Carl Brune (1984) served as the Graduate Chair for the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Ohio, Athens. Dr. Christopher Fryer (1987) is a Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow. Dr. John Dykema (1988) is a research scientist at Harvard University’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program. Not an astrophysicist, Dr. Tony Karrer (1983) has been the Chief Technology Officer at numerous start-ups and established corporations, including eHarmony.
All of the scientists mentioned above are respected authors in their fields. There are some twenty Burroughs authors in various genres. Dr. Jerry Hough (1951), for decades, was the world’s expert on US-Soviet relations. Andrew Hoyem was a poet. He is the last preservationist of museum quality, handsets, and printed books. Moby Dick and the Folio Bible, a massive work set one letter at a time, are considered his best productions. Brett Battles (1980) is a USA Today, best-selling author in the “thriller” genre. Brett won the Barry Award for The Deceived. Sabaa (Saleem) Tahir (2000) was raised in a motel in Ridgecrest. Her Embers in the Ashes series and All My Rage, a novel based on growing up in Ridgecrest, have received numerous prestigious awards.
A bit of Burroughs trivia: When opening in 1959, the front of Burroughs faced B Mountain. It made sense at the time as the preponderance of Burroughs students lived on Station. Decades later, the preponderance of Burroughs students lived off Station. By two hard-fought State of California and Department of Defense (DoD) grant proposals, eighty percent of the engineering building was provided by the State of California, and eighty percent of the new office complex was provided by a DoD grant. Job well done, SSUSD!
Next up: Athletes and Athletics
