There’s a bit of Beaver Nation on the red planet.
Oregon State alumnus William Allen, ’86, played a key role in the mechanical systems design of NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, which captured the world’s attention when it recorded video of its own landing in February.
Perseverance is now busy searching for signs of past microbial life and collecting samples for possible return to Earth. The mission, as described by NASA, “provides opportunities to gather knowledge and demonstrate technologies that address the challenges of future human expeditions to Mars.”
Four decades ago, Allen didn’t have his sights set on Mars. But he was determined to get a solid education.
“Oregon State was touted as a good engineering school, and once I stepped foot on that campus, that’s all it took for me,” he says.
Allen grew up in West Los Angeles and spent his childhood taking apart and improving every bicycle or other mechanical device his parents gave him. Anticipating college, he realized he had some catching up to do in advanced math.
“I knew if I stayed home in California that would be harder, so a combination of that and wanting to choose a good engineering school were what brought me to Corvallis. I had to grow up really fast both educationally and personally.”
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Trent Lundy
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