Troy, N.Y. — North Greenbush resident David L. Carson was honored at Colorado Springs this September by the U.S. Air Force Academy's Falcon Heritage Forum for his public service to the nation. Carson is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Literature at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Carson came to Rensselaer in 1976 as director of graduate programs in technical communication. Carson expanded the Institute's reach in technical communication to include an onsite, degree-offering program at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

The program was later extended to IBM and now includes programs conducted via Web, satellite, and video.

In 1994, Carson was recognized as Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the International Society of Technical Communication.

While at Rensselaer, Carson served in a variety of national offices, including various presidencies of The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication and The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing.

For 15 years, Carson served as executive editor of The Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (Baywood Publishing Company), which continues as the discipline's foremost publication.

Before coming to Rensselaer, Carson served 20 years in the Air Force as fighter pilot, test pilot, combat commander, Air Force Academy professor, and educational administrator for academy-supported university programs throughout Europe.

While at the Air Force Academy he conceived and initiated the Academy's Executive Writing Program, which has served as a model for similar programs throughout the world.

Carson has consulted widely with such eminent research laboratories as Bell Labs, Perkin Elmer, United Technologies, and Ericsson laboratories in Sweden.

Contact: Jodi Ackerman
Phone: (518) 276-6531
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