Harold M. DeGroff, Jr. papers

Harold Miller DeGroff was born May 10, 1920 to Harold and Marjorie (Lantz) DeGroff in Troy, Ohio. He was married to Sarah (Sally) Meek DeGroff for more than 54 years.

A former naval officer, he took full advantage of the G.I. bill to attend Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and California Institute of Technology, where he earned his doctorate in aeronautics and mathematics.

A longtime Purdue University faculty member, he was dean of Purdue's School of Aeronautics and Astronautics from 1955-1963 during the height of the "space race," counting Neil Armstrong and other renowned NASA astronauts as his students. He also served on the faculty of Purdue's Krannert School of Management, was president of Midwest Applied Science Corporation, a pioneer tenant of Purdue Research Park, and served as vice president of Design and Manufacturing Corporation in Connersville, Indiana.

An endowed scholarship was established at Purdue in his name for students in management or aeronautical engineering who are earning a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

DeGroff was an avid student of history, music and art and an active civic volunteer. He and Sally were dedicated members of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, which named him a lifetime member in 2008. He was particularly fond and supportive of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art and followed the glaucoma research being conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology with great interest and gratitude.