AVIATION WEEK Announces Laureate Award Winners

WASHINGTON, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at an awards dinner 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.

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. 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 29 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology.

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