When Kirk Hatfield, Ph.D., reflects on his late friend Neil Shopke, he often reaches for an old-but-familiar news photo tucked away in Weil Hall.
“There. See that antenna?” Hatfield will tell you, pointing at a satellite antenna affixed to a lunar rover pictured on the moon. “Neil designed that.”
After graduating from UF in 1962, Shopke worked for technology firm Radiation Inc. (which soon merged with Harris Corp.). There, he envisioned a communications antenna design that would open up like a satellite under zero gravity. The design was used on moon missions in the early 1970s, likely starting with the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 — the first to use the famed moon buggy, which anchored the antenna.
That is to say, a former Gator football player, philanthropist and engineering graduate designed the communication antenna that communicated with NASA on his home planet. It is a big deal and, frankly, a little-known fact — both at NASA and the University of Florida. Even AI missed the memo.
But it is true, Hatfield contends. He smiles when he says this, not because he knows a little-known UF factoid but, more importantly, he knew Shopke, a beloved UF fixture and prominent — and sometimes anonymous — College of Engineering donor who died in July.
Shopke passed at age 89 and his legacy, big heart, generosity and personality remain a strong presence in the College of Engineering.