It had to be love.

After all, we didn't give them the time. And heaven knows there's nothing romantic about studying for an AE3030 final.

Or is there?

The following couples cobbled together an improbable romance during their time at the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering. Some worked here. Some studied here. We don't know how they got away with it, but, you know what they say: We're Georgia Tech. We can do that.

This being Valentine's Day, though, we have to give them the credit.

David B. Gomez and Abigail McClain, BSAE '18, '20

David B. Gomez

Abigail McClain

"Abigail and I met in Fall 2015 at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM), but it wasn't until about a year later that I realized she was the one.

I cannot recall the date nor time, but I remember the exact moment... I was fumbling through some System Dynamics homework when Abigail came into the lounge on the 4th floor of Woodruff. I asked her for some help with a problem I was stuck on (of course, I wasn't actually stuck on anything, I just wanted an excuse to get some quality facetime with her). She had not taken the course yet but was somehow able to solve the problem.

To be honest, it really wasn't much different than any of the other thousand times she's extended her genius to me since then, but this was a turning point for me. I am not immune to the calamities of life, and that period was particularly dark for me. But I don't remember any of that. I only remember her. I remember her long hair and honey brown eyes, and I remember noticing how the tone of her voice changed whenever she talked analytics (it still does, I call it her "physics voice"). It's a memory full of light, a light that has continued to permeate my world to this day.

Three-and-a-half years later, we're engaged to be married. We tie the knot in June, and in the fall we'll start a new chapter of our lives attending graduate school together. At this moment, we don't know where. But that's okay. I don't care so much about the where anymore; I care more with whom."

When Systems Dynamics lead to personal dynamics. David Gomez and Abigail McClain are seen here, in their official engagement photo.                                                                                  (Anna Hall Photography)

Scott and Tina Moseley

"I had just started working at Tech in 2002. She [Tina Crouch] was working upstairs in the AE business office, and the manger of the machine shop at the time introduced us in December. We married on July 5, 2007."

When the Business Office Meets the Machine Shop... Scott and Tina Moseley have been together for almost 18 years. Scott is now the manager of the machine shop, but, to our knowledge, the only thing he's introduced to anyone is a new water jet.

Henry and Katie Schwartz, PhD AE '17,'15

"It was the fall of 2010 when I started graduate school at Georgia Tech. I noticed her [Katie Gatian] right away during the ASDL orientation. I assumed an east coast girl and a west coast guy would never work. But I decided to give it a try. Almost ten years later, here we are, happily married with a seven-month old baby boy."

Making Snow Angels. Katie Schwartz, PhDAE '16 and Henry Schwartz, PhDAE '17 with their little angel, Michael, ABD '19 (Always Buying Diapers). Henry now works as a research engineer in the Aerospace Systems Design Lab where they both earned their doctorates. Michael has yet to matriculate.

John and Angela Laughter, BSAE '93, '94

"Angela and I actually started dating when I was a freshman and she was still a senior in high school! I was always going to be AE from a young age but I don’t ever think it was the plan for Angela to be AE. So When she changed her major to AE it was destiny...and we embraced it. She’s the smart one, of course, and quickly caught up to me in the curriculum. By the end, we were in most of the same classes including Senior Design. We graduated in '93/'94 and then got married in '95. So coming up on our 25th...but our first date was 31 years ago!"

Better with Age. John Laughter is the Chair of the Daniel Guggenheim's Aerospace Engineering School Advisory Council (AESAC) and a Delta Airlines executive. But his most important accomplishment is standing by his side in these photos. Happy 25th to the couple who didn't let Thermo kill the heat.