Former Transportation Secretary, Coast Guard Rescue Teams, U.S. Cadets among Honorees

NEW YORK, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- AVIATION WEEK has named the winners of the 52nd Annual Laureate Awards, which recognize exceptional strategy, heroism and leadership in aviation, aerospace and defense. The following Laureate honorees have improved their organizations, championed new technologies, and changed aviation history.

• Aeronautics/Propulsion: The Pratt & Whitney PW1000G Team successfully developed and launched a new propulsion concept that offers a step-change reduction in fuel burn and emissions.
  • Yuan Dong, Senior Fellow and Discipline Chief for Compression Systems Aerodynamics
  • Mike McCune, Manager, Fan Drive Gear System Part Family Center
  • Steve Morford, Discipline Manager, Acoustics and Inlet/Nacelle/Exhaust Nozzle
  • Bob Saia, VP, Next Generation Product Family
  • Bill Sheridan, Mechanical Design Discipline Chief and Fellow for Rotor Systems Design
• Business/General Aviation: General Dynamics and Gulfstream Aerospace launched the G650 and mid-sized G250 last year, positioning Gulfstream as a leader in the business jet market.
  • Nicholas D. Chabraja, Chairman and CEO, General Dynamics Corp.
  • Larry Flynn, SVP, Marketing and Sales, Gulfstream Aerospace
  • Preston Henne, SVP for Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream Aerospace
  • Joseph Lombardo, President, Gulfstream Aerospace
• Commercial Air Transport: Tony Fernandes, Founder and CEO, Air Asia, has successfully kept the airline's low-fare model intact while substantially growing the fleet and promoting employee empowerment.
• Information Technology/Electronics: IATA completed an e-ticket initiative that helped eliminate paper tickets and saves airlines an estimated $3 billion per year.
  • Giovanni Bisignani, Director General
  • Phillipe Bruyere, Director, Simplifying the Business
  • Bryan Wilson, e-Ticket Project Manager and Chief Technology Officer
• Military: The VUIT-2 Team developed a new program that enables Army Apache helicopters in Iraq to receive live streaming video from unmanned aerial vehicles.
  • LTC Jennifer L. Jensen, U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems PMO
  • LTC Robert J. Johnston, U.S. Army PM Apache
  • William Murtha, VUIT-2 Program Manager
  • LTC Charles S. Walls IV, U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate
• Operations: The Operation Burnt Frost Team shot down the wayward USA-193 satellite prior to its reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, successfully minimizing debris.
  • Tony DeSimone, Engineer, Aegis BMD System, Lockheed Martin
  • Capt. Randall Hendrickson, Head Theater Air Missile Defense Branch, U.S. Navy
  • Rear Adm. Alan Hicks, Program Director Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, U.S. Navy
  • Richard Hussey, Program Manager SM-3 Block 1A/1B, Raytheon
• Space: Elon Musk, Founder and CEO, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), developed the Falcon 1 rocket, the first privately financed launch vehicle to place a satellite in orbit.

In addition, AVIATION WEEK awarded the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement to the Honorable Alan S. Boyd; the AVIATION WEEK Heroism Award went to the U.S. Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk, HH-65 Dolphin, HC-130 Hercules rescue teams; and four U.S. cadets were recognized as Tomorrow's Leaders--as follows.

• Alan S. Boyd, the first U.S. Transportation secretary, served under four presidents in various leadership positions. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award for creating global success for America's deregulated aviation industry, growing the nation's aviation infrastructure, and strengthening the system's extraordinary level of safety.
• The U.S. Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk, HH-65 Dolphin, HC-130 Hercules rescue teams saved 42 people from the freezing waters of the Bering Sea on March 23, 2008. Crew members include:
  • Lt. Steve Bonn, HH-60 pilot
  • Aviation Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Robert Debolt, HH-60 flight mechanic
  • Lt. Greg Gedemer, HH-65C copilot
  • Aviation Survival Technician 2nd Class Abram Heller, HH-65C rescue swimmer
  • Aviation Survival Technician 2nd Class O'Brien Hollow, HH-60 rescue swimmer
  • USCG Cutter Monro Commanding Officer Capt. Craig Lloyd, rescue ship
  • Lt. Brian McLaughlin, HH-60 Aircraft Commander
  • Aviation Maintenance Technician 2nd Class Alfred Musgrave, HH-65C
  • Lt. Timothy Schmitz, HH-65C Aircraft Commander
  • Overall Team Leader: Commander Michael Trimpert, Chief of Search & Rescue, USCG District 17
• "Tomorrow's Leader" awards, sponsored by BAE Systems, were presented to these cadets:
  • U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman First Class Margarete Frost
  • U.S. Military Academy Cadet Yujen Lien
  • U.S. Coast Guard Academy First Class Conor Sven Madison
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Captain Josiah Timothy VanderMey

Produced by AVIATION WEEK, in conjunction with Platinum Sponsor BAE Systems and Diamond Sponsor Gulfstream Aerospace, the Laureate Awards were held on March 3, 2009, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. The event was conceived more than 50 years ago to recognize the extraordinary achievements of individuals and teams in aviation, aerospace and defense. Today, 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 16 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology and is on AviationWeek.com.

About AVIATION WEEK

AVIATION WEEK, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is the largest multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries, and includes the publications Aviation Week & Space Technology, Defense Technology International, Business & Commercial Aviation, Overhaul & Maintenance, ShowNews, Aviation Daily, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report and the World Aerospace Database. The group's website, www.aviationweek.com, offers the industry's most reliable news, information, search and online community tools. Premium content services include the Aviation Week Intelligence Network, MRO Prospector, and the Top-Performing Companies Benchmarking Tool. The group also produces prominent conferences, exhibitions and management forums around the world.

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