Donald Rethke, known affectionately as “Dr. Flush” for his contributions to NASA’s space toilets during the Apollo program, was recognized for his work with the award-winning GMHS Robotics team at a ceremony on Oct. 7. Started in 2009, the Granby Grunts have competed throughout New England and beyond. In 2015 they finished in the top one percent of the world at the International Competition in St. Louis. Rethke donated his time and expertise in leading this innovative program which requires fundraising for the team’s travel. He also established the Robotics team at Enfield’s Fermi High School and has spoken to more than 300,000 children at schools and museums. A Navy veteran and graduate of Wisconsin University, Rethke spent 37 years at Hamilton Standard. In addition to his “zero gravity” commode, he developed spacesuit backpacks for the 12 astronauts who visited the moon and worked on the lunar excursion module, Skylab and the space shuttle among other projects.
Fun Fact: The name “Granby Grunts” is a shout-out to our military troops as a reference to the importance of teamwork. Rethke spoke about the need for our schools to keep up with technological advances and stressed the importance of giving back and impacting the future.
“The team has been a family to me,” said Rethke. “In competitions we always thought of our robot as our trophy.”
From comments made by Cheri Burke, Superintendent of Schools.