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Brigadier General
Cary A. Fisher
Permanent Professor 1977–2005
B.S., United States Military Academy
M.S., California Institute of Technology
M.A., University of New Mexico
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
Cary Fisher, the Academy’s 34th Permanent Professor, was born in 1941 in Manhattan Beach, California. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in 1963 and entered the US Air Force upon graduation. Cary’s first assignment was to the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, from which he graduated with a Master’s degree in Aeronautics in 1964. He then became the Project Director, Rocket Sled Blast Simulation Program at the AF Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland AFB, NM. While at Kirtland, Cary earned a Master’s degree in Government and Political Science from the University of New Mexico. He attended Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB, AL, in early 1968, graduating as a Distinguished Graduate. Cary was assigned as an Instructor in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at the USAF Academy in 1968. In 1970 he became a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, earning a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 1972. Cary then was assigned as a Weapons Controller and Senior Director, 621st Tactical Control Squadron, Ubon Royal Thai AFB, Thailand. In 1973 Cary returned to the Academy as an Associate Professor and Assistant to the Dean, Faculty Secretariat. In 1977 he was appointed a Permanent Professor; he continued with his duties on the Dean’s staff until appointed Head of the Department of Engineering Mechanics in 1979. In 1982 he took a sabbatical as the Chief Scientist, European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, London. In 1983 Cary moved to the American Embassy in London as the Science Attaché. In 1984 he returned to the Academy as Head of the Department of Engineering Mechanics and assumed the additional duty of Engineering Division Chair in 1987. He served as President of the American Society for Engineering Education in 1994–1995, and in various capacities within the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, including Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department Heads Committee. In 2002 Cary and his engineering colleagues developed the ABET-accredited Systems Engineering major. In 2003 he spent four months as Senior Military Liaison Officer to HQ Kosovo Force, United Nations Mission, Pristina. He has authored more than 50 published reports and journal articles on engineering topics, curriculum development, and engineering education. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado. Cary was promoted to brigadier general and retired from the USAF in 2005.
Cary has continued his involvement in engineering education, both as an ABET Program Evaluator and as an ABET Foundation Consultant. To date he has evaluated 40 undergraduate engineering programs, including programs at 10 overseas campuses. Cary was recently elected as a Public Member of the Higher Learning Commission Board of Trustees. The Higher Learning Commission has the regional accreditation responsibility for all post-secondary educational institutions in the central United States.