Army Specialized Training Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute

As reported in Kinnear's The First Hundred Years: A History of Virginia Polytechnic and State University, VPI was selected in February 1943 as one of several campuses to host the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), which would be used to train Army engineers.

The first trainees arrived in March 1943.

By December 1945, 3387 men had been enrolled in the program.

Of those, 46  obtained their engineering degrees while enrolled in the program.

It is more than likely that your Rudolf B. Cahn was enrolled in the program.

The annual university catalog, which as late as the 1940s still listed every regularly enrolled student, names the individuals who earned degrees through the ASTP but does not name every trainee.

Unfortunately, I have found no list among our collections that provides such a list.

The June 1, 1943 issue of the Techgram states that the 1943 summer ASTP was to begin on July 12.

Marc Brodsky, Public Services and Reference Archivist
Virginia Tech  |  Special Collections, Newman Library
560 Drillfield Dr.
Blacksburg, VA  24061