# Awards

Wattenburg received a Certificate of Merit from the Secretary of Defense in 1970 for his service on the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 1966 to 1970. Members of this Board were authorized by Congress to oversee and advise the Secretary of Defense and the President on the strategic defense programs of the Air Force. Members are given the equivalent military rank of General and the authority to request briefings from the staffs of any Air Force command concerning the defense programs and forces at their command.

Wattenburg served on a sub-committee headed by Dr. Edward Teller which reviewed and evaluated this nation’s nuclear defense and missile capability. Wattenburg proposed significant defense strategy changes which are recorded in still classified documents from this period.

I also found out that Bill was named a Distinguished Alumni of Chico State for 1999, in the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology.—PKS