Robert and Margaret Haack

Why Auburn Engineering?

Robert grew up visiting the Auburn campus and attending football games. He always had a plan to attend Auburn and after a campus visit on E-Day, decided to pursue electrical engineering. My interest in engineering came from my enjoyment of math, chemistry and physics in high school. My mother was a graduate of the “other state school,” but after visiting both engineering colleges, I fell in love with Auburn. We have both bled orange and blue ever since. 

How did you meet? If you met on campus, could you tell us your Auburn story?

We began dating in high school while in our algebra II with trig class our junior year, which seems fitting for two eventual engineers. We continued dating at Auburn. We attended the free movies at Langdon Hall and fraternity and sorority parties, participated on SGA committees and never missed a football game. Of course this was all around our study groups at Parker Hall and in the classrooms under the old shop buildings. Most date nights began with one of us finding the other working circuits or statics problems or completing lab notes. In fact, one freshman semester, I had a chemistry lab that didn't end until 6pm on Fridays! I didn't think I'd ever get to go home for a weekend, but Robert waited on me so we could drive to Montgomery together. That's true love!

Where are you now? Tell us about your engineering journey after graduation!

Robert and I got engaged before I graduated and then got married a few months later. We settled in Huntsville, Alabama and both began our careers supporting the Department of Defense. Working as a female engineer was a rarity in the mid-80s but proved to be very rewarding. I had experiences as a systems engineer, test engineer, project director, Pentagon action officer and program manager. Robert obtained his PE license and after a few years with the federal government at Redstone Arsenal, became a defense contractor. He also obtained a commission as an engineering duty officer in the Navy Reserve, retiring with the rank of Commander. We both continued our education. I completed a master’s in program management from the Naval Postgraduate School and Robert completed a master’s in management from Florida Tech. I retired last summer after a 36-year career with the DoD as a senior engineer with the Missile Defense Agency. Robert is still supporting the DoD as a principle manager with Parsons. We both have enjoyed mentoring young engineers and sharing our experiences. But nothing was as rewarding as seeing both of our daughters follow us and become Auburn Engineers. Yes, we are that geeky engineering family and love it! We recently celebrated our 37^th wedding anniversary and look forward to many more.