The Department of Mathematical Sciences hosted Colonel (retired) Frank Borman ’50, as a guest speaker for the Math Forum and as a course-wide guest lecturer for MA103. Colonel Borman taught thermodynamics and fluid mechanics at West Point from 1957-1960, served as an astronaut with NASA from 1960 to 1970, and as Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Air Lines from 1975 to 1986. In 1965, Colonel Borman set a 14-day spaceflight endurance record in Gemini 7. In 1969, he served as the Commander of Apollo 8, which was the first mission to fly around the Moon. He was the first of only 24 humans to ever fly to or around the Moon. He also served as the Chairman of the Special Commission on the United States Military Academy. In December 1976, the commission published a landmark paper, known as the "Borman Report", which detailed the commission's examination of the Honor System at West Point in response to the cheating scandal in Electrical Engineering in the early to mid-1970s.
Several of the commission's recommendations, including greater emphasis on education and training, standardized enforcement, and more opportunities for rehabilitation in lieu of dismissal, were adopted by the Academy and serve as key elements of the current Honor System. During the Math Forum, Colonel Borman met with approximately 100 upper class cadets majoring in math, operations research, and several other STEM disciplines. During the MA103 course lecture, Colonel Borman spoke to about 930 members of the class of 2020. In both events, Colonel Borman spoke about several of his personal experiences as a cadet at West Point, as a junior officer and pilot on active duty in the Air Force, and as an astronaut. He highlighted the importance of developing personal character and maintaining integrity. He also spoke about the primacy of being dedicated to mission and doing one's duty no matter how difficult or challenging the circumstances. He articulated his view that the space race of the 1960s between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. was a component of the Cold War. Colonel Borman believes we "tied" the Soviets in Korea, lost in Vietnam, but won decisively in space. He attributes the success of the NASA space program in the 1960s to the fantastic and collaborative leadership team, a dedicated and self-less workforce of over 400,000 people, and a top-to-bottom commitment to mission success by all who were associated with NASA. Colonel Borman ended each session with cadets by answering their questions, and staying at the platform to take pictures and sign autographs. Colonel Borman brought the house down when one cadet asked about his best and most memorable experience as a cadet when he responded, without hesitation, "Graduation!"