McIntosh grad named USC Salutatorian
Craig Western, a Peachtree City resident and graduate of McIntosh High, has been named Salutatorian of the University of Southern California Class of 2011. Craig will graduate summa cum laude on May 13 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, having maintained a 3.99 grade point average.
Western attended Kedron Elementary and Booth Middle School in Peachtree City, and was the 2007 Valedictorian of McIntosh High School. He was one of 141 students across the United States to be honored as a 2007 Presidential Scholar in Washington, D.C.before beginning his engineering degree in Los Angeles. A student of business and Chinese, he hopes to pursue graduate studies and ultimately to integrate his interests by advancing international collaboration and pursuing leadership in the tech sector – particularly within aerospace and defense.
Western has worked on two major NASA projects through a position with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory: he was responsible for designing and constructing a robotic platform to support a 1200-pound lunar lander model for the MoonRise mission to the lunar surface, and he also developed and built an electrical connector to dock together the wiring systems of two lunar rovers. As a member of USC’s Teamcore research group, Craig contributed to the development of software that was designed to optimize placement of security forces.
The software is currently being used for security at the Los Angeles International Airport, and for scheduling of Federal Air Marshals.
Western also held a marketing internship in Taipei, Taiwan for the electronics manufacturer Tatung. In school, Craig volunteers as Project Manager for a 20-person engineering team working to bring fresh water to a small village in Honduras, and he has led two groups to the site. He is currently involved with the i-Podium Program, an effort to promote technical innovation among USC and top schools in Beijing and Taiwan. In his free time, Craig enjoys running, hiking, wakeboarding, traveling, and exploring the neighborhoods of LA.
After graduation, Western will return to the Far East for a year of intensive Chinese Language study, as well as other academic pursuits.He has been awarded a grant from the prestigious LUCE foundation and will be based in Taipei at the National Taiwan University.
