The fall 2023 issue of Silver & Blue is headed to your mailbox and is available around campus. The magazine offers alumni, students and friends of the University of New Orleans an exciting snapshot of this illustrious community and the impactful work that’s taking place on campus and beyond.

Our cover story features alumnus Lionel Dutreix, an electrical engineer, who has close encounters with NASA’s space exploration program as director of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The facility, dubbed “America’s Rocket Factory,” is where work is underway on rocket systems that will help power missions to the moon and beyond.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, alumna Angela Brooks, who earned a master’s degree in urban planning, is helping guide the largest planning organization on the planet to advancing better and more just communities through good planning as president of the 41,000-member American Planning Association.

You can read about alumna Leah Myers, an author, who recently published a memoir exploring her Indigenous ancestry and pondering the possibility of being the last tribal citizen in her family line. And meet the stellar team of civil engineering students who revived UNO’s participation in the regional steel bridge competition in stunning fashion.

Be inspired by Nancy Sherman, the octogenarian who earned her college degree in May, and student-athlete Sydney Gott who followed a familial path to find a home at UNO.

On the research front, UNO professors are helping provide real-world solutions for challenges facing regional communities and the national labor force. For instance, chemistry professor Matt Tarr is creating virtual training tools and a lab to ensure there is a trained labor force for the burgeoning wind energy market. Engineering professor Nikolas Xiros, whose expertise lies within the fields of marine and electromechanical systems engineering, is researching how to convert water currents to electrical power.       

The magazine also offers a colorful look at several campus traditions and a brief introduction to the University’s new president, Kathy Johnson, who begins Nov. 1.

Be on the lookout for your copy of Silver & Blue. Until then, a digital copy is available online.