Roland Walter Schmitt (July 24, 1923 – March 31, 2017) was an American physicist, business executive and the sixteenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
[2][1] During World War II, Schmitt served in the United States Air Force.
During his tenure, he oversaw a $200 million fundraising campaign and saw the addition of new degree programs and research centers.
[7] He served as a member of the National Science Board, succeeding chemist Lloyd Miller Cooke from 1982 to 1994; and as chairman from 1984 to 1988.
In 1978, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and received the Arthur M. Bueche Award from the NAE in 1995.