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Building partnerships through collaboration
Gregory Jarvis (1944-1986), a graduate of UB's electrical engineering program in 1967, lost his life with six others on the space shuttle Challenger. Captain Jarvis left active duty with the Air Force to join Hughes Aircraft. Jarvis was chosen from over 600 engineering applicants at Hughes to become a payload specialist and he was selected to fly on Challenger STS 51-L, which was destroyed one minute and 13 seconds after its launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Jarvis gave an inspirational commencement address at UB in 1985. After his death, students nailed a sign reading "Jarvis Hall" to the Engineering East building. The name was made official in a 1987 dedication ceremony.