Emile Edward Attala

The thing I remember most about Emile is that no matter how serious things got he was never boring, as a lot of engineers were. Even when the astronauts were in deep trouble on Apollo 13, Emile, who took the lead in writing the code to make the inflight corrections necessary for a successful return to earths did it with a "no-fail" attitude and a smile on his face. He was a bright light at perhaps the darkest moment in Apollo history. He also very graciously gave the credit to every one on...

Emile's memory lives on here in this little corner of the Wasatch mountains.

Dr. Attala was Chair of the Computer Science Department when I obtained my Masters in Computer Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He could be an imposing and imperious figure! I'll never forget him! I had a one on one with him in his office and it was nip and tuck for me!

I was very saddened today when I googled Emile's name and came up with this obit.

Emile and I were friends and worked together on the Apollo Moon project back in the mid 60's at TRW in Redondo Beach. We spent many hours during and after work discussing a wide range of topics. We also shared an interest in theater and even started writing a play together. We both came to the conclusion that it is much easier to critic a play than to write one!

I last saw Emile after he and...

I was doing random search on google and found this page. I started reading what everyone has been writting about Emile and it really touched me. I am really happy to see he had a great influence on many people, helped you finding your interests and make some of you smile even when you weren't feeling good. Because I lived on the other side of the continent, I only met my uncle a few times...but I will always remember him as being a great man.

My sadness in hearing of Emile's death is tempered by the knowing I have of how much he gave me during his life. I, too, met Emile in Csc 221. I loved that class and Emile. When I had my closest connection to Emile and his wonderful family was during our practicum project with Control Data. Jackie Bayne and I had pretty much taken control of the written part. When we submitted it to Emile for review, I thought we had a masterpeice. As he read it, he just shook his head in despair. The told us...

Emile was always thinking about how to provide his students with better learning opportunities. I met him when I was at HP and he was looking for industry partnerships to augment student experiences at Cal Poly. Not only did we work together to implement his goals, but we became friends in the process. I will miss him and send my deepest condolences to his family, whom he loved deeply and about whom he was always ready to brag and share stories.

I first met Emile when I took his CSc 221 assembly language programming, machine architecture class. I was late for the final when I didn't hear my alarm clock in Yosemite Hall (too many all nighters leading up to finals). Emile allowed me to take the final after I was coherent if I promised to become his first "reader" and grade papers in his classes.

I enjoyed the rest of my undergraduate years working with him on Computer Assisted Instruction research, occasionally babysitting his...

There are those people who really make differences and touch others, Emile was truely one of those people. His kindness and engaging personality will be truely missed. He was a big influence on me and a friend. I am thankful to have known such a man.