Engineer "Whistleblower" in Challenger Disaster Presents at UC

Roger Boisjoly, an engineer who says he desperately tried to stop the 1986 launch of the Challenger space shuttle, will present a lecture at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12, at the University of Cincinnati's College of Applied Science, Room A204 of the Administration Building. The UC College of Applied Science is located at 2220 Victory Parkway. The event is free and is open to the public.

Boisjoly's lecture, "The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: A Paradigm for Changing Workplace/Career Ethics," will emphasize lessons learned from past organizational and professional misconduct as well as how practitioners can protect themselves.

Boisjoly was a senior engineer for the company that built the solid rocket boosters for the shuttle, and says he warned against liftoff in freezing conditions the day the Challenger was set to launch on Jan. 28, 1986. The go-ahead for liftoff resulted in the explosion that killed six astronauts and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

Boisjoly testified before the presidential commission that investigated the tragedy, was branded a "whistleblower," and lost his 27-year career in the aerospace industry. He has given hundreds of lectures on the Challenger disaster and is a self-employed forensic engineer.