The University of Louisiana at Lafayette opened the Nick Pugh Aerospace Electronics Research Laboratory during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. The facility was formerly the Cajun Advanced Picosatellite Experiment, or CAPE, Satellite Lab, which Pugh helped establish.
It is housed in the University’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, part of the College of Engineering. The lab is home to the CAPE Satellite Program, which enables University students to research, design, develop, and maintain low-earth orbiting satellites.
Pugh earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University in 1968. Two years later, he established the first microwave loop in the Gulf of Mexico, which improved telecommunications throughout the region.
He is the founder of Rig Telephone and Blackhawk Datacom. He and wife JoAnn established the Pugh Family Foundation, which supports students and educators in poor communities.
