The Road to Progress is Paved with Discovery

by Dr. T. Dwayne McCay, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Expanding knowledge to improve the human condition is at the core of what all scientists and engineers labor to achieve. Discovery is the critical ingredient in that recipe for progress. Without it, humankind remains stale, stagnant, uninteresting.

I was humbled recently to receive the Lifetime Achievement in Technology Congressional Medal from Congressman Bill Posey. While certainly a distinct honor, the presentation and accompanying ceremony where other leaders in technology and business were also recognized served another purpose—a valuable reminder of our shared mission.

Florida Tech researchers commit themselves to expanding the current boundaries of knowledge, always pushing to see what’s beyond the next horizon. That commitment is evidenced in the international reputation that many of our faculty currently enjoy. Biomedical engineering, information security, robotics, automotive engineering, aeronautical science—the list of fields where Florida Tech professors are recognized as world renowned grows annually. Their leadership and expertise serve not only student success, but improve the human condition. Their successes serve us all.

Changing our world for the better is a calling to be respected. It must be taken seriously, and diligently pursued, with dispassionate scientific method underscored by a passionate drive to achieve the previously unachievable.  Our Florida Tech faculty, staff and students take up that challenge every day, motivated by that chance at discovery.