James Rhyne Killian

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Dr. James Rhyne Killian, Jr. (1904-1988) was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1948 until 1959. As Special Assistant for Science and Technology to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957-1959, i.e. Eisenhower's first Science Advisor, Killian oversaw the creation of the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) shortly after the launches of the Soviet artificial satellites, Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, in October and November 1957. PSAC was instrumental in initiating national curriculum reforms in science and technology and in establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He authored a book, "The Education of a College President" (1985) which serves as an autobiography as well.

His official MIT biography: http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/biographies/killian.html

A discussion of his involvement with the CIA and Pres. Eisenhower: http://cryptome.org/cia-spy-tech/cia-spy-tech.htm

Two locations on MIT's campus bear Killian's name: Killian Court, a tree-lined courtyard with views of MIT's Great Dome, and Killian Hall, a concert hall.

Some interesting private additions from his family tree can be found under[1]

v • d • e Presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology William Rogers (1862) · John Daniel Runkle (1870) · William Rogers (1879) · Francis Walker (1881) · James Crafts (1897) · Henry Pritchett (1900) · Arthur Amos Noyes (1907) · Richard Maclaurin (1909) · Elihu Thomson (1920) · Ernest Nichols (1921) · Elihu Thomson (1922) · Samuel Stratton (1923) · Karl Compton (1930) · James Killian (1948) · Julius Stratton (1959) · Howard Johnson (1966) · Jerome Wiesner (1971) · Paul Gray (1980) · Charles Vest (1990) · Susan Hockfield (2004)