Tag: AAAE

Michimasa Fujino to Receive the 2024 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for Design and Development of the HondaJet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 8, 2024 – Reston, Va. – Michimasa Fujino has been awarded the 2024 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for technical innovation and leadership in conceiving, designing, and bringing HondaJet to a leading position in the business jet market. Fujino will receive the prestigious award during the 2024 AIAA Awards Gala on Wednesday, 15 May, at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts*, Washington, DC.

The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 to honor innovators who make notable achievements in the advancement of aeronautics. Its first recipient was Orville Wright. The medal is jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), SAE International (SAE), and the Vertical Flight Society (VFS).

“It is an honor and a privilege to nominate Mr. Fujino for the Daniel Guggenheim Medal. His visionary leadership and meticulous engineering have created the most advanced very light jet in the world. His innovative Over-the-Wing Engine Mount design has set a new standard for performance and efficiency in the aviation industry. Mr. Fujino is a true pioneer and a deserving recipient of this prestigious award,” said Mark Ofsthun, Senior Manager, Methods & F&DT, Honda Aircraft Company, and nominator.

Michimasa Fujino, retired founding president and CEO of Honda Aircraft Company, was responsible for the design and development, certification, production, sales, and service of the HondaJet. Fujino joined Honda R&D in 1984 and led aeronautical research of aircraft configuration design, aerodynamics, flight control, avionics system, advanced composite structure, and aeroelasticity. He became project leader of HondaJet in 1997 and developed HondaJet with advanced technologies. In 2006, Fujino founded Honda Aircraft Company and focused on the dual tasks of obtaining type certification of the new aircraft and creating a new company and organization for aircraft development, certification, and manufacturing. He also established a worldwide sales and service network for HondaJet. With his aeronautical breakthroughs, Fujino’s clean sheet design was proven to enhance aircraft performance and fuel efficiency and provide exceptional comfort for passengers. HondaJet became the best-selling business jet in its class.

Fujino has received international recognition for his pioneering contributions to aeronautical research and design. He has been the recipient of numerous international awards and distinctions, including the Elmer A. Sperry Award, AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award, ICAS Award for Innovation in Aeronautics, SAE Clarence L. (Kelly) Johnson Aerospace Vehicle Design and Development Award, AIAA Aircraft Design Award, Prime Minister Award of Japan Industry and induction to the Living Legends of Aviation. In addition, Fujino has been recognized in the industrial design field and received the Good Design Gold Award and the Japan Industrial Designers’ Association Design Museum Award. His extensive research and theories on aircraft configuration design, advanced aerodynamics, and aeroelasticity have been published in technical and academic journals, and he holds several patents for aircraft design.

Fujino holds a Bachelor of Science and Doctorate in aeronautical engineering from the University of Tokyo. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), SAE International, and the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS). He is also an international member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Past recipients of the Guggenheim Medal are some of the greatest names in aerospace, including Holt Ashley, Lawrence Bell, William Boeing, James Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Charles Stark Draper, Hugh Dryden, Robert Goddard, Jerome Hunsaker, Theodore von Kármán, Charles Lindbergh, Glenn Martin, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, Igor Sikorsky, and Walter Vincenti, among many others.

For more information about the AIAA/ASME/SAE/VFS Daniel Guggenheim Medal, contact Patricia A. Carr, Guggenheim Secretary, at [email protected].

*Note: This event is an external rental presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and is not produced by the Kennedy Center.

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram..

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.

About SAE International
SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 128,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. For more information visit www.sae.org.

About The Vertical Flight Society 
Founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943, the Vertical Flight Society today advocates, promotes and supports global vertical flight technology and professional development. For 80 years, the Society has provided leadership for the advancement of vertical flight. For more information, visit www.vtol.org or follow us on Twitter at @VTOLsociety.

Pittsburgh International Airport Microgrid Wins Prestigious 2024 Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award for Environmental Innovation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Award recognizes innovative microgrid project as PIT leads industry’s sustainability efforts

February 28, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) as the winner of the 2024 Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award for the creation of its cost-saving and emissions-reducing airport microgrid project.

The Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award honors an individual or individuals judged to have contributed most significantly in recent years to the enhancement of relationships between airports and/or heliports and other surrounding environments via exemplary innovation that might be replicated elsewhere. The award is cosponsored by AIAA, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), and the Airport Consultants Council (ACC).

Paul Hoback, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, and John Bevilacqua, Electrical Engineering Project Manager, at Pittsburgh International Airport, will accept the 2024 Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award during the awards luncheon on 6 March at the 2024 AAAE/ACC Airport Planning, Design, and Construction Symposium in Salt Lake City, Utah.

PIT’s first-of-its-kind airport microgrid became fully operational in summer 2021, providing a complete electric power source for the PIT terminal and campus in the event of an outage that affects the traditional grid – propelling the airport into a world leadership role in the transition to clean energy.

Built in partnership with People’s Natural Gas, IMG Energy Solutions and CNX, the microgrid is fueled by natural gas and nearly 10,000 solar panels built atop a capped landfill, land otherwise unusable for development. PIT is planning to double the size of the solar array in the future. By utilizing cleaner energy, the microgrid provides a yearly carbon reduction of more than 6 million pounds and saved the airport and its partners more than $1 million annually. The microgrid was built at no cost to the airport, constructed and funded entirely by private sources.

The unique system is inspiring change across the world, drawing numerous international delegations eager to see it in operation during the first-ever Global Clean Energy Action Forum, which was held in Pittsburgh in 2022. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is now examining its utilization of capped landfill space as part of a review of other similar opportunities to redevelop land.

PIT’s microgrid has been studied by government and business leaders from around the world as PIT has hosted several airports and airlines to examine the facility. Airports in the country have since announced their own microgrid plans while others are examining similar options. The microgrid makes PIT one of the most resilient airports in the world while significantly increasing sustainability. The project has received several national and local awards and has been written about extensively in both local and national press, including Forbes magazine.

About AAAE
Founded in 1928, AAAE is the world’s largest professional organization representing the individuals who work at public-use commercial and general aviation airports. AAAE’s 10,000 members represent over 960 airports and hundreds of companies and organizations that support the airport industry. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., AAAE serves its membership through results-oriented representation in Washington, D.C., and delivers a wide range of industry services and professional development opportunities, including training, conferences, and a highly respected accreditation program. aaae.org

About ACC
The Airport Consultants Council (ACC) is the global trade association that represents private businesses involved in the development and operation of airports and their related facilities. Part of ACC’s mission is to inform its members of new trends while promoting fair competition and procurement practices that protect the industry’s bottom line. acconline.org

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

About Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) serves approximately 10 million passengers annually and is a key economic driver for the region, reflecting and serving the community, inspiring the industry, and advancing the region’s role as a world leader. PIT’s new terminal, scheduled to open in 2025, will transform the passenger experience and showcase the region’s thriving economy as its new front door. PIT has recently won numerous international awards including being named by Fast Company magazine as One of the Most Innovative Companies in the World as well as a finalist in Accessible Design. Future Travel Experience named PIT a winner in its Pioneer innovation awards, and PIT’s first-of-its-kind microgrid has garnered numerous accolades for resiliency and sustainability. For more information visit www.flypittsburgh.com.

Media Contacts

AAAE
Molly Balkam, Manager, Marketing
[email protected]
703.797.2539 | 301.787.1605

ACAA
Bob Kerlik, Director, Public Affairs
[email protected]
412-472-3557

ACC
T. J. Schulz, President
[email protected]
703-344-6792

AIAA
Rebecca Gray, Director, Communications
[email protected]
804-397-5270 cell

Wayne Johnson to Receive the 2023 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for Landmark Contributions to Vertical Flight Aeronautics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2023 – Reston, Va. – Wayne Johnson has been awarded the 2023 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for his landmark contributions to vertical flight aeronautics and resulting computational codes enabling the design of the first tiltrotor aircraft, eVTOL aircraft, and the Mars Helicopter.

The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 to honor innovators who make notable achievements in the advancement of aeronautics. Its first recipient was Orville Wright. The medal is jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), SAE International (originally the Society of Automotive Engineers), and the Vertical Flight Society (VFS, originally the American Helicopter Society).

Johnson will receive this prestigious award during the Vertical Flight Society’s 79th Annual Forum, 16–18 May, West Palm Beach, Florida.

“I have worked closely with Dr. Johnson for forty-five years. He richly deserves this prestigious recognition for his exceptional career in rotorcraft technology development. His contributions span analysis, design, testing, flight, and academic endeavors for every class of vertical lift rotorcraft – from helicopters and tiltrotors to emerging technology aircraft, from civilian to military mission capable rotorcraft, from personal air taxis to flying on Mars,” said William Warmbrodt, NASA Ames Research Center and Dr. Johnson’s nominator. “His energy, knowledge, and willingness to work with many different people and organizations around the world has benefited not just the international rotorcraft technical community but has also had significant positive impact on those who have had the pleasure and privilege to work with Dr. Johnson and learn from him, including me.”

Johnson obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering in 1968, and Ph.D. in 1970 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He worked at the U.S. Army Aeromechanics Laboratory from 1970 to 1981, assigned to the 40- by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel branch of Ames Research Center. He was with NASA from 1981 to 1986, including a couple of years as Assistant Branch Chief. In 1986, Johnson founded Johnson Aeronautics, and from 1986 to 1998 developed rotorcraft software. Since 1998 he has worked at the Aeromechanics Branch of NASA Ames Research Center.

Johnson is author of the comprehensive analysis CAMRADII and the rotorcraft design code NDARC; and the books Helicopter Theory (Princeton University Press, 1980; Dover Publications, 1994) and Rotorcraft Aeromechanics (Cambridge University Press, 2013).

He is a Fellow of AIAA and VFS, and an Ames Fellow, and has received the U.S. Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service, NASA Medals for Exceptional Engineering Achievement and Exceptional Technology Achievement, the VFS Grover E. Bell Award, the Ames H. Julian Allen Award, the 1986 AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, the 2010 VFS Alexander Nikolsky Honorary Lectureship, and the 2014 VFS Alexander Klemin Award.

Past recipients of the Guggenheim Medal are some of the greatest names in aerospace, including Holt Ashley, Lawrence Bell, William Boeing, James Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Charles Stark Draper, Hugh Dryden, Robert Goddard, Jerome Hunsaker, Theodore von Kármán, Charles Lindbergh, Glenn Martin, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, Igor Sikorsky, and Walter Vincenti among many others.

For more information about the AIAA/ASME/SAE/VFS Daniel Guggenheim Medal, contact Patricia A. Carr, Guggenheim Secretary, at [email protected].

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.

About SAE International
SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. For more information visit www.sae.org.

About The Vertical Flight Society 
Founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943, the Vertical Flight Society today advocates, promotes and supports global vertical flight technology and professional development. For 80 years, the Society has provided leadership for the advancement of vertical flight. For more information, visit www.vtol.org or follow us on Twitter at @VTOLsociety.

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270.

Ozires Silva to Receive the Daniel Guggenheim Medal for Influential Contributions to Aerospace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 18, 2021 – Reston, Va. – Ozires Silva, Co-Founder/Past President, Embraer, has been awarded the 2020 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for his education and inspiration of today’s aerospace engineers and scientists and for his influential contributions to the fields of combustion and propulsion. The award presentation will be hosted by the Brazilian Air Force and is tentatively planned for March 2021.

The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 to honor innovators who make notable achievements in the advancement of aeronautics. Its first recipient was Orville Wright. The medal is jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), SAE International (originally the Society of Automotive Engineers) and the Vertical Flight Society (originally the American Helicopter Society).

“This distinguished recognition to Ozires Silva reflects his innovative and exceptional contributions to aviation. His passion, courage, and leadership paved the way for Embraer to expand in ways that few imagined, transforming regional aviation, and leading our company to be admired globally. It is an honor and a great privilege for me and all my colleagues at Embraer to be inspired every day by his pioneering vision and innovative spirit,” said Francisco Gomes Neto, President and CEO of Embraer.

Silva was born on January 8, 1931, in Bauru, State of São Paulo, Brazil. In 1948, he joined the Aeronautical School, linked to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), in Rio de Janeiro, where he received his military license four years later. He moved to São José dos Campos, State of São Paulo, to join the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) in 1959, graduating with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1962. After graduation, he led the Department of Aircraft at the Institute of Research and Development (IPD), linked to the then Technical Center of Aeronautics (CTA).

In 1965, he travelled to the United States to complete a master’s degree at the California Institute of Technology, where he would spend a year. At the same time, he started the IPD-6504 project, which would later become the Bandeirante aircraft. Silva promoted, alongside a group of visionaries, the creation of Embraer in 1969, becoming the company’s superintendent director until 1986, when he accepted the offer to take command of the Brazilian oil company Petrobras. After two years as Minister of Infrastructure and Communications for Brazilian President Fernando Collor, Silva returned to Embraer in 1992 and chaired the company until its privatization in December 1994.

Silva became president of Varig airline in 2000, remaining in the position for two years. In 2003, he created Pele Nova Biotecnologia, whose mission was focused on the development of therapeutic and dermo-cosmetic innovations based on Brazil’s biodiversity. In the last few decades, Silva has become an active voice in favor of education, writing several books and articles on the subject. He currently is the president of the Innovation Council of Ânima Educação in São Paulo.

Past recipients of the Guggenheim Medal are some of the greatest names in aerospace, including Walter Vincenti, Holt Ashley, Lawrence Bell, William Boeing, James Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Charles Stark Draper, Hugh Dryden, Robert Goddard, Jerome Hunsaker, Theodore von Kármán, Charles Lindbergh, Glenn Martin, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, and Igor Sikorsky, among many others.

For more information about the AIAA/ASME/SAE/VFS Daniel Guggenheim Medal, or the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia Carr at [email protected].

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.

About SAE International
SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our philanthropic SAE Foundation, including programs like A World in Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. For more information visit www.sae.org.

About The Vertical Flight Society 
Founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943, the Vertical Flight Society today advocates, promotes and supports global vertical flight technology and professional development. For 75 years, the Society has provided leadership for the advancement of vertical flight. For more information, visit www.vtol.org or follow us on Twitter at @VTOLsociety.

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270.

Jackson Hole Airport Board Wins 2021 Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award

Award recognizes the prioritization of sustainability at the airport to protect the environment

January 27, 2021 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates the Jackson Hole Airport Board as the 2021 winner of the Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award. The Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) is located in Jackson, Wyoming.

The Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award honors an individual or individuals judged to have contributed most significantly in recent years to the enhancement of relationships between airports and/or heliports and other surrounding environments via exemplary innovation that might be replicated elsewhere. The award is cosponsored by AIAA, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), and the Airport Consultants Council (ACC). For more information on the AIAA Honors and Awards Program, contact Patricia Carr at [email protected].

Jerry Blann, Jackson Hole Airport Board President, will accept the award during the virtual 2021 ACC/AAAE Airport Planning, Design and Construction Symposium on March 1, 2, and 4. Get more information on the virtual event, here.

The Jackson Hole Airport Board has worked tirelessly to implement numerous initiatives and programs to protect the natural environment, support passengers, staff, and the local community, and to employ resiliency in every aspect of their work. Highlights of their recent sustainability achievements include:

  • Waste Diversion and Recycling. The Airport Board, in alignment with Teton County and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), established an aggressive goal of diverting 60% of its waste from the landfill by 2030. In just over two years, the airport has more than doubled its waste diversion rate (from 18% to 38%).
  • Air Quality and Emissions Reduction. The Airport Board has implemented multiple initiatives to reduce emissions, including receiving a grant from the Volkswagen Settlement grant program to replace an older piece of snow removal equipment with a cleaner burning unit. The Airport Board also joined the Good Traveler Program to provide carbon offset opportunities to Jackson passengers and to offset all Airport Board employee work-related travel, along with all work commuting miles for Airport Board employees. To date the airport has offset 1,183 metric tons of carbon.
  • Water Quality. The airport worked with consultants and stakeholders to construct a state-of-the-art fuel and glycol facility with above ground, double-walled tanks and a containment system to protect water quality. The Board approved the installation of an airport-wide underground stormwater detention and filtration system, which allows all stormwater to be filtered prior to leaving the property, thus protecting the Class I watershed that exists in Jackson.
  • Wildlife. The airport coordinated with GTNP to develop a Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat Restoration Plan that identifies strategies to protect both birds and aircraft.
Award Cosponsors
AIAA
AAAE-logo-transparent
ACC-logo

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804.397.5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Stephen W. Tsai to Receive the 2025 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for Revolutionizing Composite Materials Technology for Aerospace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 28, 2025 – Reston, Va. – Stephen W. Tsai has been awarded the 2025 Daniel Guggenheim Medal for his series of pioneering innovations revolutionizing design and simplifying manufacturing processes of composites, shaping today’s composites industry. Tsai is Research Professor Emeritus, Stanford University. He will receive the prestigious award during the 2025 AIAA Awards Gala on Wednesday, 30 April, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, DC.

The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 to honor innovators who make notable achievements in the advancement of aeronautics. Its first recipient was Orville Wright. The medal is jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), SAE International (SAE), and the Vertical Flight Society (VFS).

“Dr. Steve Tsai is a visionary scientist and advocate for innovation through his practical and easy to interpret problem solving approach. His foundational and transformational contribution in lamination theory, manufacturing, to failure criteria for over 60 years brought renewed excitement in composites technology to aeronautical systems as it stands today. It is my true honor to nominate him for this prestigious award,” said Ajit Roy, Principal Materials Research Engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and nominator.

“On behalf of the Guggenheim Medal Board, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. Dr. Tsai’s groundbreaking contributions to composite materials and their application in Aerospace Structural Engineering have had a profound impact on both the aerospace industry and the broader community,” added Sivaram Gogineni, president, Spectral Energies, and chair, Guggenheim Medal Board.

Born and raised in Beijing, Tsai earned his D.Eng at Yale University in 1961. He began his work in composites at Ford/Aeronutronic, continued onto Washington University in 1966, Air Force Materials Laboratory in 1968, and has been with Stanford University since 1990.

Tsai’s early works included Tsai-Hill and Tsai-Wu failure criteria, lamination parameter plots, and invariant transformation relations. His series of pioneering innovations for composites property (stiffness) optimization and strength estimation enabling simplified approaches has been universally accepted by industry worldwide. Since his retirement from Stanford in 2001, his work led to single parameters for laminate stiffness in Tsai’s modulus, and von Mises area in laminate failure envelopes. Materials and laminates can then be ranked and scaled. He also discovered double-double lamination that is rapidly replacing the legacy Quad.

He is the founding editor of the Journal of Composite Materials begun in 1967, and he co-authored the textbook, Introduction to Composite Materials, in 1980, which has been translated into numerous languages. He began conducting the annual Composites Computation Workshops at the University of California Berkeley in 1966, training thousands of engineers for 17 consecutive years. In 2006, he started the Composites Design Workshop at Stanford, transitioning to online training, which continues to be offered.

Tsai was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995. He became a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1983.

Past recipients of the Guggenheim Medal are some of the greatest names in aerospace, including Holt Ashley, Lawrence Bell, William Boeing, James Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Charles Stark Draper, Hugh Dryden, Robert Goddard, Jerome Hunsaker, Theodore von Kármán, Charles Lindbergh, Glenn Martin, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, Igor Sikorsky, and Walter Vincenti, among many others.

For more information about the AIAA/ASME/SAE/VFS Daniel Guggenheim Medal, contact Patricia A. Carr, Guggenheim Secretary, at [email protected].

AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram..

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. For more information visit www.asme.org.

About SAE International
SAE is the leader in connecting and educating mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. Our core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International’s charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series. For more information visit www.sae.org.

About The Vertical Flight Society 
Founded as the American Helicopter Society in 1943, the Vertical Flight Society today advocates, promotes and supports global vertical flight technology and professional development. For 80 years, the Society has provided leadership for the advancement of vertical flight. For more information, visit www.vtol.org or follow us on Twitter at @VTOLsociety.

Boston Logan International Airport Wins Prestigious 2025 Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2025 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) as the winner of the 2025 Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award for designing new low-noise flight procedures to actively reduce aviation noise impacts around the airport while also providing a reduction in fuel burn.

The Jay Hollingsworth Speas Airport Award honors an individual or individuals judged to have contributed most significantly in recent years to the enhancement of relationships between airports and/or heliports and other surrounding environments via exemplary innovation that might be replicated elsewhere. The award is cosponsored by AIAA, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE), and the Airport Consultants Council (ACC).

“The Award Committee is pleased to recognize the excellent collaborative work by MIT and Massport to reduce aircraft noise for residents under Boston Logan International Airport approach paths while simultaneously reducing fuel burn and distance traveled,” said R. Dixon “Dirk” Speas Jr., brother of Jay Hollingsworth Speas in whose memory the award was established 40 years ago by their father, R. Dixon Speas. “It is our hope that other airports and communities will benefit from the methodologies utilized.”

The following representatives from the collaborating organizations will accept the award during the awards luncheon on 13 March at the 2025 AAAE/ACC Airport Planning, Design, and Construction Symposium in San Antonio, Texas:

  • R. John Hansman, T. Wilson Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Flavio Leo, Director of Aviation Planning and Strategy, Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport)
  • Jacqueline Huynh, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Irvine
  • Sandro Salgueiro, Airspace Integration Engineer, SkyGrid

Over the last decade, improvements to aircraft navigation technology have allowed departing and arriving aircraft to follow highly precise routes in the sky. These new routes, known as Area Navigation (RNAV) flight procedures, were implemented at BOS between 2012 and 2013 and have allowed aircraft to navigate more efficiently and predictably in the airspace around Boston. However, this shift to more precise navigation has had the side effect of concentrating aircraft trajectories over specific neighborhoods, leading to a perceived increase in aviation noise for affected communities. After the implementation of RNAV procedures, the number of noise complaints received annually by the airport increased, with complaint locations correlating strongly with RNAV tracks.

In response, in 2016, a three-way collaboration was started between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Massport, and MIT to identify potential modifications to the then-current departure and arrival procedures at BOS that could mitigate the impacts of high flight track concentrations. In collaboration with Massport and the FAA, Professor John Hansman and graduate students at the MIT International Center for Air Transportation (ICAT) led outreach to communities and technical development of potential procedure modifications. Over a period of six years, ICAT investigated several technical solutions for mitigating aircraft noise.

Following extensive collaboration with community groups and operational stakeholders, four new low-noise flight procedures were submitted to the FAA for implementation. Now deployed operationally, these procedures are actively reducing aviation noise impacts around BOS while also providing a reduction in fuel burn.

About AAAE
Founded in 1928, AAAE is the world’s largest professional organization representing the individuals who work at public-use commercial and general aviation airports. AAAE’s 10,000 members represent over 960 airports and hundreds of companies and organizations that support the airport industry. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., AAAE serves its membership through results-oriented representation in Washington, D.C., and delivers a wide range of industry services and professional development opportunities, including training, conferences, and a highly respected accreditation program. aaae.org

About ACC
The Airport Consultants Council (ACC) is the global trade association that represents private businesses involved in the development and operation of airports and their related facilities. Part of ACC’s mission is to inform its members of new trends while promoting fair competition and procurement practices that protect the industry’s bottom line. acconline.org

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Media Contacts

AAAE
Molly Balkam, Manager, Marketing
[email protected]
703.797.2539 | 301.787.1605

ACC
T. J. Schulz, President
[email protected]
703-344-6792

AIAA
Rebecca Gray, Director, Communications
[email protected]
804-397-5270 cell