Head of nuclear weapons lab to speak at Engineering graduation

May 2, 2006

WHO: Thomas Hunter, director of Sandia National Laboratories, the organization that oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. Hunter is also a Florida native whose hometown is Interlachen in nearby Putnam County.

WHAT: Hunter will speak at the University of Florida College of Engineering graduation ceremony. A total of about 500 graduates are expected to attend the ceremony. The college expects to award 739 engineering degrees this spring, including 479 bachelor’s, 196 master’s and 64 doctoral degrees.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: O’Connell Center.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The college will award St. Petersburg heart surgeon and inventor Dr. J. Crayton Pruitt an honorary doctoral degree for his accomplishments in biomedical engineering. Pruitt donated $10 million to the college’s biomedical engineering department earlier this year. The college will also honor Robert Cohn as a distinguished alumnus. Cohn, who earned his bachelor’s degree from UF in 1972, is an entrepreneur and former CEO of Octel Communications and executive vice president of Lucent Technologies Inc.

CONTACT: (352) 392-2177.