Gore, Robert

Robert Gore first came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973 as a public affairs officer with the Air Force. He returned to West Virginia to go into the family business in 1976 and four years later was offered a job with Summa Corporation. Back in Las Vegas, he also served as director of the Air Force Association. At a dinner meeting of the Association, Retired General Bill Becker suggested that an engineering school was needed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Gore and the Air Force Association put together a group called Foundation for Resource Gains through Engineering (FORGE), whose primary purpose was to promote a school of engineering.

Gore, Dave Broxterman, John Heilman and others began researching the idea of building an engineering school. They drew the interest of people at the Test Site, Nellis Air Force Base, and Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON), and put together a slide show and a binder full of research data. Gore and Broxterman presented their information to the Nevada Development Authority and Nevada legislators, and started a grassroots campaign to enlist the support of the people of Nevada. As of 2008, Gore was working with a real estate company in Las Vegas.