HUGH WAS A WW-II NAVY VETERAN AS A COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS SPECIALIST. FOLLOWING HIS NAVAL SERVICE, HUGH PURSUED A CAREER IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DoD) AS A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER AND WAS WIDELY RECOGNIZED THROUGHOUT THE DoD AND INDUSTRY FOR HIS MANY ADVANCED IDEAS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO TECHNOLOGY. DURING HIS CAREER IN CIVIL SERVICE, HUGH HELD MANY RESPONSIBLE AND REWARDING POSITIONS. HIS LATER YEARS WERE PRIMARILY DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED AERIAL TARGET SYSTEMS WHILE WORKING AT EGLIN AFB. UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP THE AIR FORCE DEVELOPED AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE TO FLY AT 100,000 FEET AT MACH 4 SPEED. HE DEVELOPED SEVERAL AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE MISS DISTANCE SCORING SYSTEMS. BY APPOINTMENT OF THE OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, HUGH SERVED FOR 8 YEARS AS U.S. NATIONAL LEADER ON THE TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAM FOR AERIAL TARGETS AND RPVs. AS THE U.S. EMISSARY, HE WORKED CLOSELY WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, AND NEW ZEALAND. HUGH WAS A LONGTIME MEMBER AND LEADER IN VARIOUS PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING THE IEEE, ASSOCIATION OF OLD CROWS, AND AMERICAN DEFENSE PREPAREDNESS ASSOCIATION (ADPA), THE PREDECESSOR OF NDIA. HE SERVED TWO YEARS AS THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN FOR ADPA's AERIAL TARGETS AND RPV SECTION, WORKING CLOSELY WITH ARMY, NAVY, AND AIR FORCE AGENCIED. FOLLOWING HIS RETIREMENT FROM CIVIL SERVICE, HE CONTINUED TO PROVIDE HIS KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE OF AERIAL TARGET DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS TO A NUMBER OF AEROSPACE ORGANIZATIONS UNTIL HIS DEATH JUNE 9, 1991. HE WAS THE POSTUMOUS RECIPIENT OF THE DIVISION’S WILLIS HOWARD AWARD. HIS FRIENDS IN THE INDUSTRY ESTABLISHED THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM IN HIS HONOR. ALL FUNDS ARE ADMINISTERED BY NDIA HQ.

SUBSEQUENT TO HUGH’S DEATH, HIS MANY FRIENDS ESTABLISHED THIS SCHOLARSHIP IN HIS HONOR. THE FIRST SCHOLARSHIP WAS AWARDED IN 1992 AND THE PROGRAM WAS SUBSEQUENTLY FUNDED AT $50,000 OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. THE FIRST AWARD WAS MADE IN 1992. TO DATE $25 THOUSAND DOLLARS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO DESERVING STUDENTS.

THE ELIGIBLITY CRITERIA IS AS YOU SEE HERE THE ELIGIBLITY CRITERIA IS AS YOU SEE HERE. THE SCHOLARSHIP FOCUSES ON THE SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING (THE HARD STUFF) THAT IS SO NECESSARY IN OUR INDUSTRY. THE GULF COAST CHAPTER, OF WHICH HUGH WAS A MEMBER, HAS SIGNED ON WITH THE DIVISION AS AN ADDITIONAL SPONSOR AND IS A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR TO THE PROGRAM.

HERE IS THE SCHEDULE THAT ALLOWS APPLICATIONS TO BE RECEIVED, RANKED AND USUALLY PRESENTED BY THE HIGH SCHOOL AWARDS NIGHTS.

 THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND IS SELF SUSTAINING WITH THE $50,000 PRINCIPAL UNTOUCHED AND WITH SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED EACH YEAR FROM THE INTEREST EARNED. AS A RESULT OF THE DOWN-TURN IN THE STOCK MARKET, THE FUND HAS BEEN HANGING CLOSE TO THE $50K LEVEL FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WE HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO MAKE AWARDS AS A RESULT OF ADDITIONAL CORPORATE AND GULF COAST CHAPTER DONATIONS. IF YOUR COMPANY MAKES ANNUAL CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS, PLEASE CONSIDER THIS SCHOLARSHIP AS A RECEPIENT.