Aerospace Advisory Council member Rex Powell ’49 passes away

Rex Powell

Auburn Engineering alumnus Rex Burnham Powell, ’49 aerospace engineering and longtime member of Auburn University’s Aerospace Engineering Advisory Council, passed away at his Huntsville home on Sept. 12. He was 87 years old.

Starting in the 1960s, Powell worked in the Systems Simulation and Development Directorate at the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. He became director of the Advanced Sensors Directorate in 1987, retiring in 1997. Powell served the defense community in the Army Missile Command for 45 years. 

Powell was an early advocate for the development and use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the military. He was also a driving force behind the advancement of simulation facilities at Redstone Arsenal.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree from Auburn, he also earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Powell received the Auburn Engineering Achievement Award in 1994.

Read Powell’s obituary here.