S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 | 2 5 science and I could solve problems. I was the person that if the phone broke, I would fix it. If the refrigerator door was on the wrong side, I would swap it. I could set the clock on the VCR. That used to be a major accomplishment back in my day [laughs]. We take pride at Lehigh in our interdisciplinary research teams, and the Webb telescope obviously exemplifies that approach to engineering. What did you learn about bringing disciplines together to solve problems? You start realizing that as an engineer, the value of what you bring in—I’ll call your discipline—doesn’t result in anything unless you’re working with, sometimes, three or five or 10 other disciplines that you have to learn to appreciate as soon as you can in your career, because otherwise, you’re going to design something that can’t be built or that the user can’t use. That is a wonderful white elephant sitting in the corner. But that’s not your purpose. You need to design things that can be made, whatever noble purpose you want or not, whether it’s going to be a widget people want, make a lot of money, or something that’s going to be like the Webb telescope. We built [the Webb telescope] such that information now is gathered and others can use that to understand: Where do we come from? Are we alone? All these amazing questions we’re trying to answer. So multidisciplinary, you’re going to get it at work, no matter what. The fact that you start introducing that to kids in school, earlier on, and being on these teams, I think they’re going to gain the appreciation that what they’re doing only matters if it can come to fruition. Did any professors influence you? I’ll always remember Professor [Karl H.] Norian in electrical engineering. I was always a bit of a rebel. I kind of had a chip on my shoulder, as the poor kid in a school a bit more affluent than where I came from. I didn’t have a car. I didn’t have clothing that looked as normal as others. I would sometimes go to class, not go to class. I was still kind of used to high school where I could kind of cut classes for as long as I wanted and still go in and pass the test. I’m not saying that from an arrogant standpoint. That part was easy for me. … So I had to kind of learn how to be. Professor Norian asked me to be one of his teaching assistants [TAs] and help proctor one of the classes and give the pop quizzes and get a credit for it. I don’t know why he picked me. I’m guessing he saw somebody who was capable enough but also maybe needed somebody to act like they cared, and give me a little more responsibility to do something. … When you’re just responsible for yourself, you can kind of cut corners, take your chances. But being in front of the room, it made me think differently. I wanted to be more responsible because now I was a TA. So it was really nice of him to do that. Did you discover anything surprising about yourself while at Lehigh? I learned you really can’t judge the book by the cover. …When I got to Lehigh, I almost wanted to believe anybody who had more than me was somebody I had to battle against. I had to find some other way to be better than ’em because I wasn’t going to be with my bank account or my stature, and I didn’t necessarily know what side of the plate the fork should go on, or things of that nature. And I found both sides. I found the people who were stereotypical to what I thought, and I found friends who were engaging with me and my close friends to this day, who came from a background so far removed frommine, but somehow we hit it off. We enjoyed certain sports together. We had the camaraderie of being in the same classes or doing stuff. And then I realized, kids are just kids. Everybody’s formed by where they came from, but you shouldn’t immediately presume that someone’s going to be a certain way because, again, that’s judging the book by the cover. And those four years really formed me. Last year, you and your wife created the Sarah and Scott Willoughby Scholarship Fund. Who is the scholarship for, and why was it important for you to establish it? This is my start of giving back. I have just one sole criteria, that it’s somebody who needs it. I kind of had a mixture of A-pluses and D’s on my high school transcript. I was a bit truant. I would get in arguments with teachers. I kind of want to find some kid like me who just needs somebody to care enough to say, You can clear those D’s off of your transcript if you put a little attention to it. I want somebody else to go to Lehigh with an opportunity that they wouldn’t have if that [scholarship] didn’t exist. Webb will take its first images six months after launch. Do you think there’s life out there? I think we’re going to find something that we didn’t even think to ask about, to be honest with you. I do. … Odds are there’s something out there that is close to us. The question is, are we—the James Webb Space Telescope—going to be the ones lucky enough to find that? And we have a shot. So yeah, I believe we will. L Tap to hear Willoughby discuss the science and engineering behind the Webb telescope on the Rossin Connection podcast.
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