The past several days have afforded us some great opportunities to interact with our Air Force friends. That began with Military Appreciation Day at Joe Aillet Stadium last Saturday. We had invited many of the senior officers from Barksdale AFB to join us for a pre-game reception at the Prez’s rez and followed that with some time at Joe Aillet Stadium. This is one of our favorite times of the year, and we are always honored when such a great group of officers, airmen and their families are able to join us for fellowship and relaxation. Making the day even more special was our Band of Pride and cheerleaders who joined us for a pre-game concert. The children of the officers enjoyed a special treat when they visited with Tech cheerleaders and Champ. I also spent much of the week with the Air Force in Shreveport at the Air Force Global Strike Innovation and Technology Symposium. It was good to renew connections with several of the general officers who have served at Barksdale previously as well as many of the airmen, officers, industry reps and community members who were in attendance.  I was honored to serve on a panel about University Based Innovation with my colleagues from Arizona State University and Purdue as well as AFGSC Chief Scientist Rod Miller and Tech cyber engineering student Skylar King. The Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Heather Wilson, invited me to meet with her for a few minutes after her meeting with Governor John Bel Edwards. I returned back to campus on Thursday for the last day of Fall Quarter classes. I met with a National Science Foundation site visit team early and then walked the campus to check on our students. I also took some time to go by the Archives in Prescott Memorial Library to visit with the director, Nolan Eller. I was quite impressed with the collections and displays, including several recent additions. I definitely encourage you to go by there and check it out!     Here are a few of my favorite pics for the week: