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Matthew R. Landano
is this year’s
recipient of the
Distinguished
Alumnus Award from
the College of
Engineering,
Computer Science,
and Technology.
Matthew, of Italian
American heritage,
heralds from St.
Louis, Missouri.
Within days of Pearl
Harbor, his father
was called to
action, and it was
nearly three years
before the youngster
truly met his dad.
After being the
first in his family
to complete high
school, California
beckoned.
Matt enrolled at
the-then Los Angeles
State College,
working while a
full-time student.
Because engineering
was challenging and
demanding, little
time remained for
outside activities.
However, Matt
managed to make time
for baseball,
basketball and
church functions and
also joined the
University’s
Institute of Radio
Engineers -- now the
Institute of
Electrical and
Electronics
Engineers.
After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical
engineering, he
continued working
full-time in the
aerospace industry
while pursuing his
Master of Science
degree in Electrical
Engineering. His
higher education
achievements meant a
great deal to his
family, since both
parents had to leave
school very early to
work.
Realizing his ambition to be part of the nation’s space program,
Matt joined the
California Institute
of Technology
(Caltech) Jet
Propulsion
laboratory, where he
works on projects
connected with NASA.
He has contributed
to many of the
nation’s robotic
space missions,
including the Viking
Orbiter /Mars; the
Voyager to the outer
solar system; the
Galileo to Jupiter;
the Cassini to
Saturn; the Odyssey
to Mars; and a
multitude of other
scientific space
expeditions.
While all these missions have brought a great sense of
accomplishment, he
says he is
particularly partial
to the Galileo
Project because of
the challenges it
involved for the
team in keeping the
spacecraft
development
on-track, overcoming
many pre-launch
redesigns, and
significant
operational
difficulties, yet
managing to achieve
mission success.
In 2002, Matthew was appointed director for the Office of Safety
and Mission
Success. In this
capacity, he is
responsible for the
critical hardware
needed for mission
success, for
providing
independent
technical review and
risk assessment for
all missions and
reporting results to
JPL and NASA. He has
received several
honors, including
NASA’s highest
Distinguished
Service Medal, two
Outstanding
Leadership Medals,
the Exceptional
Service Medal and
the prestigious
Aviation Week
Laurels Award.
Matt lives in
Glendale with his
wife Angeline. He
is the proud father
of two grown
children, Lisa and
Karen and
grandfather to
Camryn and Conner.
In his spare time,
Matt enjoys his
family, gardening,
travelling and
reading books on
history,
anthropology and
archeology. |
