INSIDE THE

Aviation Week Announces Laureate Award Winners

Former Boeing Aircraft Designer, Miracle on the Hudson Crew, U.S. Cadets among Honorees

At an awards dinner here tonight in Washington, DC, Aviation Week named the winners of the 53rd Annual Laureate Awards, which honor those who have shown heroism and exceptional leadership in the aviation, aerospace and defense industries.

The following Laureate Award winners have advanced their organizations, integrated new technologies, and transformed aviation history.

— Aeronautics/Propulsion: Jeff Braun, director of the U.S. Air
Force Alternative Fuels Certification Office, launched an
ambitious initiative to certify plant-derived biofuels for the
U.S. Air Force.
— Commercial Air Transport: Wolfgang Mayrhuber, CEO of Lufthansa,
transformed Lufthansa into Europe’s largest airline through
integration of other carriers and debt consolidation.
— Business/General Aviation: Clayton Jones, chairman, president
and CEO of Rockwell Collins, provided potent advocacy in 2009
when testifying on Capitol Hill in support of business jets.
— Defense: The U.S. Air Force’s Project Liberty Team (Kim High,
deputy director, USAF Big Safari Program; Lt. Gen. David Deptula,
deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
for the Air Force; Robert Spivey, vice president of special programs,
L-3 Communications; and Matthew Hallman, director of field
operations, L-3 Communications) is fielding 37 modified King Air
350s with specialized surveillance and intelligence payloads to
U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
— Information Technology/Electronics: Northrop Grumman Aerospace
Systems’ Joint High-Power Solid-State Laser Phase 3 team members
Jay Marmo, program manager, and Stuart McNaught, laser
integration lead, as well as Mark Neice, director of the High
Energy Laser Joint Technology Office, Office of the Secretary of
Defense; and Brian Strickland, chief scientist at the U.S. Army
Space and Missile Defense Command, successfully demonstrated
that a solid-state electric laser can exceed lethal power levels
of 100 kilowatts, paving the way for these lasers to move out of
the laboratory and into field testing for aircraft and armored
vehicles.
— Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO): Timothy Gray, director of
the 526th Electronic Maintenance Squadron, “Generators,” led the
group’s quality, cost and delivery improvements by implementing
process and culture changes.
— Space: International Space Station Program Managers Pierre Jean,
Canadian Space Agency; Bernardo Patti, European Space Agency;
Yoshiyuki Hasegawa, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency; Alexey
Krasnov, Roscosmos; and Michael Suffredini, NASA, completed the
25-year project in 2009 with the addition of the last major
modules and the expansion of the crew to six. The ISS is
arguably the signature engineering achievement of the last 60
years. By working together, partner agencies demonstrated that
the station is as much an achievement in foreign relations as it
is in aerospace engineering.
— Workforce: Ronald Sugar, chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman,
addressed critical workforce issues by creating cooperative work
spaces, incorporating new technologies, retaining company
knowledge and expertise, preserving professional development
opportunities, and effectively managing employee transitions.

Lifetime Achievement Awards go to …

In addition, AVIATION WEEK awarded the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement to Richard W. Taylor; the AVIATION WEEK Heroism Award went to the crew of U.S. Airways 1549; and four U.S. military cadets were recognized as Tomorrow’s Leaders.

— Klass Award: Richard W. Taylor, former aircraft designer, test
pilot, and technology leader, made extraordinary aviation
contributions in the 45 years he worked for the Boeing Company.
He developed the B-47 LABS or “Toss Bombing” techniques for
delivering nuclear weapons; he led the design of two-crew flight
decks and two-engine jet transport aircraft as B-52 engineering
director; and he evaluated engine safety for the 767 Extended
Twin Operations (ETOPS) in the 1980s. Taylor has published
multiple papers shaping FAA Advisory Circulars, and at 87, he
continues to fly his Aerostar and participates in volunteer and
professional activities.
— Heroism Award: U.S. Airways 1549 flight crew demonstrated
professionalism and courage during the January 15, 2009
emergency landing in New York City’s Hudson River, resulting in
the safety of 155 people onboard. Multiple bird strikes during
takeoff destroyed both engines at low altitude, making it
impossible to return to LaGuardia or a neighboring airport.
Miraculously and skillfully, Captain Chesley “Sully”
Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles were able to land
safely in the Hudson River, where the crew, Sheila Dail, Donna
Dent, and Doreen Welsh, evacuated the 150 passengers.
— Tomorrow’s Leader Awards, sponsored by BAE Systems, were
presented to these cadets:
— U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Nicholas Carter
— U.S. Coast Guard Academy Cadet Matthew Delahunty
— U.S. Military Academy at West Point Cadet Alex Reiter
— U.S. Naval Academy Cadet Taylor Richmond

Produced by AVIATION WEEK, in conjunction with Platinum Sponsor BAE Systems; Diamond Sponsor The Boeing Company; and Emerald Sponsors Cobham, Dassault Systemes, ITT, L3 Communications, and Northrop Grumman, the Laureate Awards were held on March 17, 2010, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. The event was conceived more than 50 years ago to recognize the extraordinary achievements of individuals and teams in aviation, aerospace and defense. This formal dinner and awards ceremony is the industry’s premier event – attracting scores of industry pioneers and thought leaders from around the world. Complete coverage of the Laureate Awards will be available in the March 29 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology.

About AVIATION WEEK

AVIATION WEEK, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is the largest multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries, and includes http://AviationWeek.com, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Defense Technology International, Business & Commercial Aviation, Overhaul & Maintenance, ShowNews, Aviation Daily, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, The Weekly of Business Aviation, World Aerospace Database, Aviation Week Intelligence Network, and MRO Prospector. The group also produces major events around the world.