Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Vol. 48, No. 01 1969

Page 19

tute of Technology (1922) with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Knight also did graduate work at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University. Nationally known for his development and design of helicopters and autogiros, he taught at M.I.T. and was director of the atmospheric wind tunnel section of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics facility at Langley Field, Virginia prior to joining the Tech faculty. During his tenure at Tech, Knight established an aeronautical engineering department with an exceptional national reputation for the quality of its graduates and of its research. He was one of the leaders who organized the engineering experiment station in 1934 and served on its advisory committee. His brilliant career came to an end when he died in an Atlanta hospital at the age of 42. The D. P. Savant Building (the old electrical engineering building on the main campus). Dean Dememico P. Savant came to Georgia Tech in 1921 with a broad background in electrical engineering. He studied at Rose Polytechnic In-

stitute where he earned the degrees of B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering and at Harvard University where he got his second M.S. in the same area. He taught at Harvard and at Missouri before joining the Tech faculty as an assistant professor. During his career at Tech he was an associate professor, professor and director of the school of electrical engineering. In 1934, he was named Tech's first dean of engineering, a position he held until 1945 when he returned to teaching. Savant retired in 1954 after 33 years service to the institution. He was immediately given the title of professor emeritus on his retirement. He was a Fellow in the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and a member of many other professional and scholastic organizations. During his career at Tech, he often did consulting work for outside agencies and for seven years he was a research engineer for the Georgia Power Company in addition to his teaching duties at Tech. Savant was head of electrical engineering at Tech during its greatest growth period from 1941 through 1951. And when he retired, a group

of his former students initiated a fund campaign to raise enough to mave a painting made of him to present to the school. The D. M. Smith Building (the old physics building that now houses social sciences and information sciences). Dr. Smith received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1905 and his M.A. bvl906. He taught mathematics first at Centenary College in Louisiana and then at Fort Worth University in Texas. He returned to his studies and received his doctorate from Chicago University in 1913. In 1913 he came to Tech as a mathematics instructor. In 1934 he was named head of the mathematics department. D. M. Smith was well known in academic circles and was loved and respected by his students. He was consistently voted the most popular teacher during his tenure. Dr. Brittain explained this student adulation as "much of his success is due to the fact that he is endowed by nature with the best developed sense of humor of all the members of the Georgia Tech family." He was given charge of the catalog

The Montgomery Knight Aerospace Building (left) and the D. P. Savant Building were named for Tech leaders.

September-October 1969

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