Every month, the Aerospace Center for Excellence hosts Wings ‘n Waffles and Cookies ‘n Convos. This month we have had the privilege of hosting two guest speakers, Major General (ret) H. D. “Jake” Polumbo and Dr. Aaron Judy.
Our Wings ‘n Waffles event, the adult-focused speaker series, hosted Major General (ret) H. D. “Jake” Polumbo. Maj Gen (ret) Polumbo holds over 3,000 flight hours in aircraft such as the F-16 and U-2S, holds distinction as the first and only general officer to fly the U-2S in combat, former commander of the Ninth Air Force in South Carolina comprising over 450 aircraft and over 29,000 personnel, was the former director of strategy and plans at U.S. Africa Command, is the advisor to the President of Florida Polytechnic University, was the past Chair of the Central Florida Development Council, and is a founding partner and Senior Consultant at Two Blue ACEs.
Our Cookies ‘n Convos event, the youth-focused speaker series, hosted Dr. Aaron Judy. Dr. Judy is an Aerospace Engineer, Commercial Pilot, Chief Test Engineer for NAVAIR, and has worked with NOAA and the Hurricane Hunters.
Interested in attending Wings ‘n Waffles and/or Cookies ‘n Convos? Visit our Eventbrite page for more information!
Our September 7th Cookies ‘n Convos Speaker: Captain Winston Scott
Captain Scott is a Florida native that has served as a mission specialist on two space shuttle missions. He logged a total of 24 days, 14 hours, and 34 minutes in space and conducted two space walks. Prior to his time with NASA he was a Naval Aviator piloting the F-14 Tomcat, F/A-18 Hornet, and the A-7 Corsair. He has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to space exploration, including the Distinguished Alumni Award from Florida State University, his alma mater.
Our September 9th Wings ‘n Waffles Speaker:
Amanda Holly, Meteorologist
- Meteorologist for WFLA News Channel 8
- Holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Florida in Mechanical Engineering
- Holds a Master’s Degree from Mississippi State University in Atmospheric Sciences
- Has won three Emmy’s for her work on tropical meteorology covering hurricanes
- Holds an American Meteorology Society Broadcast Seal of Approval
- Covers important launches from Kennedy Space Center
- Has flown with the Blue Angels
- Loves boating and fishing and has a weekly segment called ‘Reel Talk’.
