Dr. Eric (Monk) Savage is proud to be the newly appointed Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice at the Purdue School of Aviation and Transportation Technology (SATT). He has long held a Visiting Assistant Professorship at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the Aviation Management & Flight department, and he was recently the Director of Aviation Programs at State University of New York (SUNY) in Schenectady, NY. Eric is a three-time graduate of Purdue University and through divine and intentional growth his career titles have spanned being a former vice-president, board member, program officer, grant manager, airport board, university professor, researcher, human factors design engineer, estimating analyst, flight instructor, lineman, paratrooper, DJ, and paperboy.
His leadership efforts as either Director of Aviation Programs, Vice-President of Educational Development & Outreach, or State-level Education Program Officer, has engaged over 10,000 teachers and almost 400,000 students in Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York, and Utah. As a project manager, researcher, or grant maker, Dr. Savage has written, co-written, or project managed research grants in excess of $19 million, including grants from New York General Fund (SUNY), National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (NSF), HELIOS Foundation, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Foundation. He has conducted and presented those research findings or industry reports at over 40 venues as either the Primary Investigator (PI), Co-PI, or Program Director (PD).
Dr. Savage received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from Purdue University, his M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and his A.A.S. degree from Green River College. He attributes his success partially to his formal educational training with advanced flight credentials, management degrees, and cognitive neuroscience training. One place he honed these skills was working for The Boeing Company as a Human Factors Design Engineer within Flight Operations & Systems Engineering. His TACAIR and PhantomWorks programs were domestically and internationally located in US, South Korea, Canada, Australia, and Malaysia on the advanced F/A-18, F-15, T-45, AV-8B platforms with selected B-programs. He applied the powers of safety analysis, genuine innovation, technical excellence and intellectual protection as he also holds a utility patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the fields of olfactory psychology and cognitive engineering.
He is a former board-member of the Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI), Chairman of the Safety Committee for University Aviation Association (UAA), Chairman/Vice-Chairman of the Airport Committee in Williams, AZ (KCMR), and a School Board Member for a CTE HS in Arizona (CAVIAT). Eric has professionally served as a full member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, International Society of Air Safety Investigators, American Association of Airport Executives, and University Aviation Association. He’s had the distinct pleasure to serve as a contributing editor for the Thomson Corporation, Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academy of Sciences, and he once served as the Editor-in-Chief of an undergraduate research e-journal in aviation research & scholarship (CONTRAILS).
As a professional mosaic, Eric has the privilege to be where he is today through the many contributions, efforts, and assists from others including his formal years at Purdue. His past instructors at Purdue have provided the strong, solid foundation to build a successful and enjoyable career and his gratitude and love of aviation, higher education, and student success has been reflected at every stage. Dr. Eric Savage attempts to replicate efforts of his excellent colleagues, both past and present, and he teaches from all of his experiences with hands-on, minds-on activities so current students are engaged, relevant, and professionally prepared for their future careers. In the end, Dr. Eric (Monk) Savage is simply grateful for every day, and he looks forward to being back on campus to see the future of aviation through the eyes of his students.
Dr. Savage has been married to Dr. Rachel Marie Savage, K-12 Superintendent, for 20 years and they have a son and daughter, Roger and Gab; Roger is a USFS Hotshot crew member around the US, and Gab is a K-12 business official in AZ.