Gordon Patterson Authors Book on ‘Secret History’ of Florida Tech

Historian and author Gordon Patterson, a faculty member at Florida Tech since 1981, has a new book that takes a unique and compelling look at the history of the Melbourne university.

“Missiles, Mischief and Mayhem: The Secret History of Countdown College,” was published in March and is available at Amazon. It is decidedly not a staid academic history, Patterson notes in the book’s preface.

“Instead, I aimed to provide students, faculty, staff, alumni, and interested readers with a sense of how the convergence of the space race and a cohort of ‘missilemen’ (both men and women) led to the creation of a unique educational institution,” he wrote.

With chapters such as, “The Great Quail Escapade,” “The Atomic Toilet” and “The Zotz Brothers Add ‘Fizz’ to Florida Tech,” the book unearths amazing but true tales and spotlights key formative moments that together provide an illuminating snapshot of Florida Tech’s development and evolution into one of the nation’s leading STEM institutions.

“The history of Florida Tech is rich and ultimately the story of its people – and it’s still being written,” President John Nicklow wrote in the foreword. “We eagerly anticipate the future.”