Erdle Chair
The Philip J. Erdle Chair in Engineering Science was fully endowed by gifts to ARDI from Carolyn Knies Erdle and the International Education Foundation in honor of Dr. Philip Erdle (Brig Gen, USAF, Retired).
Philip J. Erdle
General Erdle was a career Air Force officer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. A native of Bethlehem, PA, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy and entered the fledgling U.S. Air Force. General Erdle was a command pilot, flying dozens of aircraft throughout his Air Force career, most notably the F-84, F-100, and T-33. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and his doctorate from the University of Colorado.
Having miraculously survived a horrific crash in an F-84, his Air Force career put him on a path to a new passion and began a lifetime of support to the newly formed U.S. Air Force Academy. General Erdle was among the first academic cadre instructors when the U.S. Air Force Academy opened its doors at its permanent location in Colorado Springs. He spent the remainder of his military career at the Academy, which notably included a return to flying status.
General Erdle’s career at the Academy was truly remarkable and diverse in his impact on the Air Force’s future leaders – mechanics instructor, baseball coach, NCAA representative, and Vice Dean of Faculty. He was the youngest colonel in the Air Force when he was appointed the Academy’s 13th Permanent Professor. He served as the Permanent Professor of Engineering Sciences (1964-1965) and subsequently as the Permanent Professor for the newly designated Department of Engineering Mechanics (1965-1973). He also served as the 6th Vice Dean of the Faculty (1973-1979) and held the title of Permanent Professor Emeritus. Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1979, General Erdle worked for the Bechtel Corporation, establishing an educational system in Jubail, Saudi Arabia for the Bechtel operation. While with Bechtel, he managed numerous education and construction contracts that helped transform the educational system of Saudi Arabia.
Upon returning to Colorado, he founded the International Education Foundation, mentoring small, minority owned businesses in a first-of-its-kind business incubator in Colorado Springs. In 1984, General Erdle co-founded the Academy Research and Development Institute (ARDI), establishing and managing endowed professorial chairs for the Air Force Academy. He later served as ARDI President and CEO. General Erdle and ARDI have been major supporters of the Dean of Faculty and the Air Force Academy mission for more than a quarter of a century. In recognition of his contributions, General Erdle was named an honorary member of the USAFA Association of Graduates and was also a recipient of the Superintendent’s Award for Distinguished Service to the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. In 2002, the Philip J. Erdle Chair in Engineering Science was designated in his honor. He was a visionary leader for the Air Force Academy academic program.
General Erdle passed away in May, 2013, at the age of 82. He was devoted to his wife of 61 years, Carolyn, and his five children and 15 grandchildren. He was always quick with a joke and generous to a fault, always eager to help those less fortunate than he. He is missed dearly by his family and friends, and by the thousands of Air Force Academy cadets and officers whose lives he touched.
Current Distinguished Visiting Professor
Mr. Andrew Sivess & Dr. Angie Suplisson
Professor
Mr. Andrew Sivess
Andrew Sivess is a Colorado native, and completed his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Throughout college he was drawn towards applied mathematics and structural analysis, and his Masters Thesis covered a novel method of formulating finite element stiffness matrices, using Chebyshev polynomials. Following graduate school, he worked on launch vehicles where he made significant contributions to many missions, as well as the qualification of tank and engine systems. Subsequently, he went on to lead a structural analysis team dedicated to the development of a reentry heatshield, where he pioneered a rapid method for assessing multiple reentry profiles. Eventually, his interests turned towards space vehicles, where he was fortunate to work with mechanical and systems engineers in the design, assembly, test, and integration of satellites. Currently, his industry focus is leading teams through independent verification and validation of launch and space vehicles.
He’s honored and thrilled to be part of the ARDI Foundation legacy at the U.S. Air Force Academy. During his tenure as the Erdle Chair, he hopes to inspire Cadets to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities at the Academy.
Professor
Col (Ret) Angie Suplisson
Angie Suplisson is a 1991 graduate of the Air Force Academy and a retired Air Force Colonel. She currently teaches the Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering course for Aero majors and loves to teach the Flight Controls course sequence as well. She feels incredibly blessed and humbled to serve in the Erdle Chair and hopes to inspire cadets to be great officers, be better humans, love airplanes and love serving their country.
After 28 years of service, Angie retired in 2019 as the Vice Commander of the Air Force Test Center at Edwards AFB and joined Denmar Technical Services, Inc. as a Deputy Program Manager and Flight Test Engineer. She has over 600 flight hours testing primarily the F-16, F-15, F-15E, F-117, KC-135, Calspan Learjet-25D, and the 737-700.
Angie entered the Air Force Academy, inspired by her father Col Matt Wallace who was an Air Force fighter pilot and Vietnam War veteran. She was selected to attend USAF Test Pilot School Class 95A (The Spin Doctors) and graduated as a Flight Test Engineer. In 2000, she was selected to study in France for the Olmsted Scholarship. She was a Distinguished Graduate in the French Basic Course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and was assigned to study international relations in Lyon, France from 2001-2003. Following France, she was in the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office as part of the team getting ready for first flight of the F-35 and then worked in in the Pentagon as the F-16 Program Element Monitor. From 2007 to 2009, she served as Commander, 846th Test Squadron, Holloman AFB where she led 120 people at the Holloman High Speed Test Track in the design, fabrication and testing of sub-, super- and hypersonic rocket sled-borne systems. From 2009 to 2011, she was an Instructor of Aeronautics and Deputy Department Head in the Department of Aeronautics. After completing her PhD, Angie was the Head of the Department of Aeronautics from 2015-2016. At the same time, she was the Director of the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Center from 2015-2017, responsible for all UAS research and UAS airmanship training at the US Air Force Academy.
Angie earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy (with a German minor), a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida, a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Chapman University, a Master of International Policy and Strategy from the University of Lyon III in France, and a Doctorate in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). Her primary interest areas are flight test and optimization, while her research has been in optimal aircraft trajectories for automatic ground collision avoidance systems (Auto GCAS) to prevent Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) in fighters and in heavy military aircraft such as C-130s. Angie met her husband Fabrice in France during the Olmsted Scholarship, and they have two sons: Joseph who is a student at Montana State University and Mark who is a student at the Ohio State University.