In 1930, Jeremiah “Jerry” Gerteis graduated in the first class of Aeronautical Engineers at the University of Wichita. In 1934, Dwane Wallace, the general manager and engineer of the newly reorganized Cessna Company, asked his former classmates Gerteis and Tom Salter to do the detail engineering work and stress analysis for his vision of the C-34. Gerteis continued to work as aeronautical engineer for other companies including Stearman Aircraft Company, Spartan Aircraft, Curtiss-Wright, and the Civil Aeronautical Administration. He returned to Cessna at the beginning of WWII to work as Chief of Structures and, in 1953, he was promoted to Chief Engineer. Gerteis was not only an engineer, but also a talented leader. He encouraged engineers to work together to create a line of Cessna planes that proved to be the most popular light planes in the world.