Tag: AIAA SciTech Forum

Aerospace America: Bringing Home a Piece of Space History

ORLANDO, Fla. – Aerospace America reports, “Authors of a technical paper at the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum describe how Vanguard 1, the second U.S. satellite, could be retrieved, analyzed and displayed at one of the Smithsonian museums.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)

NASA Underscores Role of Moon as Testbed for Future Human Mars Missions

Space News reports, “NASA engineers working on the agency’s architecture for human Mars missions said during a panel at the AIAA SciTech Forum … that they were skeptical crewed missions to Mars of any kind … could be successful without first demonstrating technologies on the moon.”
Full Story (Space News)

2024 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research Awarded to Peyman Givi, University of Pittsburgh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lecture will be Delivered on 8 January During 2024 AIAA SciTech Forum

December 5, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2024 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research is awarded to Peyman Givi, Distinguished Professor and James T. Macleod Chair of Engineering, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Givi will deliver his lecture, “The Promise of Quantum Computing for Aerospace Science and Engineering,” Monday, 8 January, 1730 hrs ET, during the 2024 AIAA SciTech Forum, Orlando, Florida.

Forum registration is available now. Journalists can request a Press Pass here. In addition, the lecture will be available to view by livestream at aiaa.org/scitech.

The Dryden Lectureship in Research is one of the most prestigious lectureships bestowed by the Institute. Since the inaugural lecture in 1961, it has been a catalyst for sharing research advancements and knowledge. This premier lecture is named in honor of Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, a renowned aerospace leader and a director of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, as well as the first deputy administrator of NASA when the agency was created in 1958. The award emphasizes the importance of basic research in advancing aeronautics and astronautics.

Peyman Givi is the Distinguished Professor and James T. Macleod Chair of Engineering, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984, and B.E. from Youngstown State University in Ohio in 1980. Previously, he was the University at Buffalo Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering from 1988 to 2002. Givi also has worked as a Research Scientist at Flow Industries, Inc., in Seattle, Washington. He has had frequent visiting appointments at the NASA Langley and Glenn Research Centers.

Givi is among the first 15 engineering faculty nationwide who received the White House Faculty Fellowship from President George H.W. Bush. He also received NASA Public Service Medal, the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award. In addition to being an AIAA Fellow, Givi is Fellow of AAAS, AAM, APS, ASME, the Combustion Institute, and was named ASME Engineer of the Year in Pittsburgh in 2007. He is currently on the Editorial Boards of the AIAA Journal, Combustion Theory and Modelling, Computers & Fluids, and Journal of Applied Fluid Mechanics.

Givi’s lecture will address the “second quantum revolution” — we are now at a stage that we can use “quantum science” to invent “quantum technologies.” An example of this technology is Quantum Computing (QC), which has been experiencing significant growth over the last decade, both in hardware and software. Used in appropriate ways, quantum mechanics can provide powerful resources for solving certain classes of problems, achieving cost scalings with the size of the problem that are not available to existing “classical” computers — this is known as the “quantum advantage.”

QC is starting to make an impact in practical aerospace engineering and science applications. The major contributions have been based on “quantum-ready” and “quantum inspired” algorithms. The former deals with algorithms that are shown to provide quantum advantage, and can be used when error-corrected digital, (unitary) gate, universal quantum computers are routinely available and utilized. The latter refers to computational methodologies that are classical but are inspired by quantum physics. Both methodologies are shown to capture some of the intricate structures of classical problems of interest to the aerospace community. This demonstration of quantum advantage will certainly play a significant role in enhancing the ecosystem of QC similar to that currently established in the silicon-based classical computer technology.

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, APR, [email protected], 804.397.5270 (cell)

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.

2023 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service Awarded to MIT’s Wesley Harris

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lecture will be Delivered on 25 January, During 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum

December 12, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2023 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service is awarded to Wesley Harris, Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harris will deliver his lecture, “A Half Century of Research in Fluid Dynamics,” Wednesday, 25 January, 1800 hrs ET, during the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum, National Harbor, Maryland. Registration is open to attend in person or online. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

The Durand Lectureship for Public Service, named in honor of William F. Durand, Ph.D., is presented for notable achievements by a scientific or technical leader whose contributions have led directly to the understanding and application of the science and technology of aeronautics and astronautics for the betterment of humanity. Durand was a United States naval officer and a pioneer in mechanical engineering. During his remarkable 99-year life, Durand contributed significantly to the development of aircraft propellers. He was the first civilian chair of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the forerunner of NASA.

Harris is currently the Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. From 2003 to 2008, he served as MIT’s Head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also held several faculty and administrative positions at MIT between 1972 and 1985, including Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Harris’s research areas have included unsteady aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, rarefied gas dynamics, sustainment of capital assets, hypersonics, and chaos in sickle cell disease. He is credited with more than 130 technical papers. Harris also served as Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA (1993–1995), Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, University of Tennessee Space Institute (1990–1993), and Dean of the School of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut (1985–1990). He received his Bachelor of Science degree (with Honors) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia (1964) and his Ph.D. in Aerospace and Mechanical Sciences from Princeton University (1968).

Among his many honors, Harris is an Honorary Fellow of AIAA and a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He was elected vice president of NAE in 2022.

This lecture will speak on the primary engineering challenges, related research hypotheses, relevant questions, appropriate research tools, and assessment of results in selected areas of hypersonics, helicopter rotor acoustics, unsteady nonlinear transonics, and hematology. This corpus of work is driven by seminal achievements of outstanding graduate students, often working in mutual critical groups. This diversity of research investigations is matched by the diversity of participating graduate students, including racially underrepresented, women, and international students. The supporting (sustainable) research ecosystem also contributed to the quality of the process and results.

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, APR, [email protected], 804.397.5270 (cell)

2023 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research Awarded to Rodney D. Bowersox, Texas A&M University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lecture will be Delivered on 23 January, During 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum

December 12, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2023 AIAA Dryden Lectureship in Research is awarded to Rodney D. Bowersox, Associate Dean for Research, Ford I Professor of Aerospace Engineering, and University Regents Professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Bowersox will deliver his lecture, “Hypersonic Wall Bounded Viscous Flows: Theory, Ground Test, and Flight,” Monday, 23 January, 1800 hrs ET, during the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum, National Harbor, Maryland. Registration is open to attend in person or online. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

Bowersox is an Associate Dean for Research, Ford I Professor of Aerospace Engineering, and University Regents Professor at Texas A&M University. He received his bachelor of science, master of science, and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1988, 1990, and 1992, respectively. He founded and directs the Texas A&M University National Aerothermochemistry and Hypersonics Laboratory. He is the TEES Executive Director for the OUSD Joint Hypersonics Transition Office (JHTO) University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics. Bowersox is a Fellow of AIAA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineering. He is a 2017-2022 DoD Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellow.

This lecture will speak on national interest in hypersonic flight that provides motivation for accurate simulation of viscous flows at high speeds. Bowersox will explain the approach in developing and validating turbulence closure for flows with mechanical or thermochemical nonequilibrium. First, an overview of key hypersonic viscous flow challenges is presented. This is followed by a description of second-order turbulence transport theoretical treatment, with comparison to DNS and LES data from the literature. Experimental and additional numerical results are then described, which examine the role of mechanical and thermochemical nonequilibrium on the structure, statistics, and modeling of hypersonic turbulent flow. These data were acquired in the Texas A&M University National Aerothermochemistry and Hypersonics Laboratory. The lecture will conclude with highlights from the recent AFOSR boundary-layer turbulence (BOLT II in Memory of Mike Holden) hypersonic flight experiment, which was successfully launched from NASA Wallops Flight Facility on 21 March 2022. The flight experiment has provided new data to quantify the transition mechanisms and subsequent evolution of turbulence for a geometry with concave curvature and highly swept leading edges.

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, APR, [email protected], 804.397.5270 (cell)

AIAA to Recognize Excellence in Aerospace Award Winners at the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 12, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the winners of awards to be presented during the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum, to be held 23–27 January 2023, National Harbor, Maryland. Registration is open to attend in person or online. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

We are proud to recognize these accomplished individuals for their influence on the aerospace profession, their outstanding merit, and their unique contributions to the art, science, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “Chosen by their peers, these visionaries, technological leaders, and exemplary professionals are truly inspirational. We are grateful for their efforts working toward a better world.”

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

EDUCATION AWARD

2022 J. Leland Atwood Award
This award recognizes a recent outstanding educational achievement and encourages innovative improvements in aerospace education.

John Sullivan, Purdue University
For extraordinary contributions to aerospace education and research, including pioneering work on design-build-test student projects, international leadership in the development of pressure- and temperature-sensitive paints for aerodynamic measurements, and statesman-like academic leadership, and for the widespread and profound impact on his students and the broader aerospace industry.

LITERARY AWARDS

2023 AIAA Children’s Literature Award
This award is presented for an outstanding, significant, and original book in aeronautics and astronautics published within the last two years.

Clayton Anderson
Sleeping Bear Press
Letters from Space

2023 Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award
The award is presented for the best original contribution to the field of aeronautical or astronautical non-fiction literature published in the last five years dealing with the science, technology, and/or impact of aeronautics or astronautics on society.

Diane Vaughan, Columbia University
Dead Reckoning: Air Traffic Control, System Effects, and Risk

2023 AIAA History Manuscript Award
This award is presented for the best historical manuscript dealing with the science, technology, and/or impact of aeronautics and astronautics on society.

Cathleen S. Lewis
Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum
Cosmonaut: A Cultural History

2023 AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award
The award is presented for an outstanding contribution or contributions to aeronautical and astronautical literature in the relatively recent past.

“Bala” Balakumar Balachandran
University of Maryland
Applied Nonlinear Dynamics: Analytical, Computational, and Experimental Methods and Vibrations, Third Edition

SERVICE AWARD

2023 AIAA Mary W. Jackson Diversity and Inclusion Award
This award recognizes an individual or group within AIAA who has devoted time and effort and made significant contributions to the advancement of diversity and inclusion within the Institute

Eric J. Ruggiero
GE Aerospace
For leadership in bringing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forefront for the aerospace community through sustained efforts through professional societies.

TECHNICAL AWARDS

2023 AIAA Aerospace Software Engineering Award
This award is presented for outstanding technical and/or management contributions to aeronautical or astronautical software engineering.

Elizabeth T. Whitaker
Georgia Tech Research Institute/Georgia Institute of Technology
For twenty-five years of expert knowledge contributions researching, teaching, and applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques primarily to DARPA, IARPA, and DOD aviation application.

2023 AIAA Air Breathing Propulsion Award
This award is presented to an individual for sustained, meritorious accomplishment in the arts, sciences, and technology of air breathing propulsion systems.

Feng Liu
University of California, Irvine
For the turbine-burner engine innovation and other high-impact contributions of computational methods for turbomachinery aerodynamics.

2023 AIAA Energy Systems Award
This award is presented for a significant contribution in the broad field of energy systems, specifically as related to the application of engineering sciences and systems engineering to the production, storage, distribution, and conservation of energy.

Bengt Aake Sundén
Lund University
For significant contributions to the development of efficient innovative cooling concepts of gas turbines and aircraft engines by pushing advanced numerical and experimental techniques to the forefront.

2023 AIAA Information Systems Award
This award is to recognize outstanding technical and/or management contributions in space and aeronautics computer, sensing, and fusion aspects of information technology and science.

Jimmie G. McEver III
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
For outstanding technical and managerial contributions to complex systems, cyberspace operations, and command and control, to include exemplary outreach efforts within the aerospace community

2023 AIAA Mechanics and Control of Flight Award
This award is presented for an outstanding recent technical or scientific contribution by an individual in the mechanics, guidance, or control of flight in space or the atmosphere.

Robert H. Bishop
University of South Florida
For distinguished contributions to spacecraft control systems, especially for pioneering advancements of guidance and navigation systems for the Space Shuttle and ALHAT, and precision landings.

2023 AIAA Propellants and Combustion Award
This award is presented for outstanding technical contributions to aeronautical or astronautical combustion engineering.

Suresh Menon
Georgia Institute of Technology
For distinguished and pioneering contributions to the field of multi-scale computational modeling and simulation of turbulent and multiphase combustion in power and propulsion systems.

2023 AIAA Walter J. and Angeline H. Crichlow Trust Prize
This award is presented for a specific achievement or body of work that became significant during the immediate past 15 years.

Inderjit Chopra
University of Maryland
For seminal contributions to rotorcraft fundamental research and education; milestone design projects (human-powered, DaVinci-Aerial-Screw, Mars helicopters), and distinguished service to federal agencies, industry, and professional societies.

2023 AIAA Wyld Propulsion Award
This award is presented for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems.

Rodney L. Burton
CU Aerospace, L.L.C.
For distinguished enhancement of science and innovation in the field of electric space propulsion, education of scientist engineers, and entrepreneurial leadership in aerospace engineering.

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

2023 AIAA SciTech Forum to Ignite the Future

Registration Now Open for the World’s Largest Aerospace R&D Event

December 8, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced its five-day program for the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum, 23–27 January, National Harbor, Maryland, and virtually. This year’s program features nearly 3,000 technical presentations and an extensive lineup of industry leaders as speakers, panelists, and presenters.

Registration for the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum is open now for the worldwide aerospace community to attend in person or online. Journalists who wish to cover this event can request a Press Pass.

“We are excited to welcome the aerospace community to the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum as we ignite the future and explore the frontiers of aerospace. There are important perspectives we will hear from across the generations working within the aerospace industry today that will move us boldly forward,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher.

The speakers and panelists participating in the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum are proven leaders and innovators from industry, government, and academia. Attendees will hear their views on how aerospace is solving societal grand challenges, obtaining project funding, what happens at the intersection of science and engineering, how we are accelerating confidence in this digital world, and who is making Sci-Fi a reality. Some of the speakers confirmed thus far include:

Anousheh Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, XPRIZE Foundation
Johnathon Caldwell, Vice President & General Manager, Military Space, Lockheed Martin Space
Sabine Klauke, Chief Technical Officer, Airbus
Hitoshi Kuninaka, Director General, ISAS, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Bhavya Lal, Associate Administrator, Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy, NASA
Guillermo Jenaro Rabadan, Project Executive, Advanced Digital Design and Manufacturing, Acubed
William Roach, Chief Scientist, Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Van Truskett, Executive Director, Texas Innovation Center, University of Texas at Austin
Margaret Weitekamp, Department Chair, Space History, and Curator, Cultural History of Spaceflight, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Jerry M. Wohletz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Draper

The 2023 event will cover 50+ research topics, including: fluid dynamics; applied aerodynamics; digital engineering; guidance, navigation, and control; human-machine teaming; intelligent systems; propellants and combustion; propulsion; and more. Some of the planned programming elements include:

A focus on developing the future workforce, featuring sessions addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as activities for university students and young professionals to expand their knowledge of the industry and develop their professional network.
The fourth annual “Idea Challenge” with teams of young professionals pitching ideas or products that fit under “Applying Aerospace Technologies to Solve Societal Problems.”

Additional speakers and sessions will be announced in the coming weeks, as details are confirmed. For the most up-to-date program and registration information visit aiaa.org/SciTech.

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

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.

AIAA Charters New Section in Melbourne, Australia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 26, 2023 – National Harbor, Maryland – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce it has chartered a new section in Melbourne, Australia. The AIAA Council of Directors approved the addition at its meeting during the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum in National Harbor, Maryland. The Melbourne Section is located in AIAA Region VII and includes AIAA members living in Victoria and Tasmania. This new section joins the Sydney and Adelaide Sections in Australia.

The addition of this new section brings the global total of AIAA sections to 57, in seven regions. Sections are led by AIAA members who volunteer to organize and offer technical programs, networking, educational opportunities, and other activities tailored to local aerospace professionals, students, and educators.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Melbourne Section to AIAA! Chartering a new AIAA section is an effort led by local AIAA members stepping up as leaders to create events and activities to serve their local membership and provide value to the aerospace community in their area. We look forward to seeing how this section continues shaping the future of aerospace,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher.

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

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, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

2025 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service Awarded to The Boeing Company’s Kevin G. Bowcutt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lecture Set for 6 January During 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum

November 18, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2025 AIAA Durand Lectureship for Public Service is awarded to Kevin G. Bowcutt, Principal Senior Technical Fellow and Chief Scientist of Hypersonics for The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, Calif.

Bowcutt will deliver his lecture, “The Evolution of Hypersonic Flight Over Seven Decades and the Technical Breakthroughs that Got Us Here,” on Monday, 6 January, 3:30 p.m. ET, during the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum, Orlando, Florida. 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum registration is available now. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

Bowcutt is a Principal Senior Technical Fellow & Chief Scientist of Hypersonics for Boeing with 42 years of experience. He is an AIAA Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. In 2021 he was selected by Texas A&M to be a Fellow of the Hagler Institute of Advanced Study. He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland. Bowcutt is an internationally recognized expert in hypersonic aerodynamics, propulsion integration, and vehicle design and optimization, and leads Boeing’s hypersonic vehicle advanced design and technology development efforts.

Bowcutt’s lecture will chronicle the major milestones that have enabled air-breathing hypersonic flight, bringing future promise to current capability, and leading to worldwide pursuit of hypersonic capabilities and leadership. Hypersonic flight has the potential to dramatically impact national defense, and significantly improve the speed of global travel and the frequency and cost of space access. For more than 50 years following the first hypersonic flight in 1949, expendable rocket propulsion was the only available means of accelerating vehicles to hypersonic speed, limiting applications to costly expendable spaceflight and military missiles. Although it took more than 40 years of dedicated R&D, the idea conceived in 1957 of a more efficient air-breathing engine employing supersonic combustion, the scramjet, was finally proven viable in 2004 by flying on NASA’s X-43A. Almost 10 years later, in 2013, hypersonic air-breathing propulsion was proven practical by flying a dual-mode ramjet on the USAF/DARPA X-51 Scramjet Engine Demonstrator. These achievements were enabled by continuous advancements in high-temperature materials; test facilities, test techniques, and test campaigns; scramjet technologies, such as air intakes, isolators, injectors, mixers, flame holders, combustion chemistry, and nozzles; fluid dynamic and thermostructural simulation; and multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization.

The Institute’s Public Policy Committee takes pride in selecting accomplished leaders in aeronautics and astronautics for this honor who can share their knowledge through the Durand Lecture for Public Service. For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, APR, [email protected], 804.397.5270 (cell)

Boeing Unveils Updated Valkyrie at AIAA SciTech Forum in San Diego

Air Force Magazine reported that The Boeing Company “has revealed an updated concept for its Valkyrie reusable, unmanned hypersonic aircraft that indicates new design approaches for inlets and shaping.” The revised Valkyrie was shown “in the form of a model at [last] week’s American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics [SciTech] meeting in San Diego.” The aircraft “shows several design departures and revisions from Boeing’s previous concept, made public in 2018.”
Full Story (Air Force Magazine)

AIAA to Recognize Excellence in Aerospace Award Winners at the 2024 AIAA SciTech Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 5, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the winners of awards to be presented during the 2024 AIAA SciTech Forum, to be held 8–12 January 2024, Orlando, Florida. Registration is open to attend in person. Journalists can request a Press Pass here.

“We are proud to recognize these accomplished individuals for their influence on the aerospace profession, their outstanding merit, and their unique contributions to the art, science, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher. “Chosen by their peers, these exemplary professionals are truly inspirational. We are grateful for their efforts shaping the future of aerospace.”

For more information about the AIAA Honors and Awards program, contact Patricia A. Carr at [email protected].

LITERARY AWARDS

2024 Gardner-Lasser Aerospace History Literature Award
The award is presented for the best original contribution to the field of aeronautical or astronautical non-fiction literature published in the last five years dealing with the science, technology, and/or impact of aeronautics or astronautics on society.

Margaret A. Weitekamp
Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum
Space Craze: America’s Enduring Fascination with Real and Imagined Space Flight

2024 AIAA History Manuscript Award
This award is presented for the best historical manuscript dealing with the science, technology, and/or impact of aeronautics and astronautics on society.

Aaron M. Bateman
George Washington University
A Space Renaissance: The Strategic Defense Initiative and the Arms Race

2024 AIAA Pendray Aerospace Literature Award
The award is presented for an outstanding contribution or contributions to aeronautical and astronautical literature in the relatively recent past.

Ann P. Dowling
University of Cambridge
Combustion Noise

2024 AIAA Summerfield Book Award
This award is presented to the author of the best book recently published (within the last five years) by AIAA.

Jeffrey W. Hamstra
Lockheed Martin Corporation
The F-35 Lightning II: From Concept to Cockpit

SERVICE AWARD

2024 AIAA Mary W. Jackson Diversity and Inclusion Award
This award recognizes an individual or group within AIAA who has devoted time and effort and made significant contributions to the advancement of diversity and inclusion within the Institute.

Amanda Simpson
Airbus Americas (retired)
U.S. Department of Defense (retired)
For being a trailblazer in the aerospace community, a champion of diversity and inclusion in industry and government, and an inspiration to future generations.

TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS

2024 AIAA Air Breathing Propulsion Award
This award is presented to an individual for sustained, meritorious accomplishment in the arts, sciences, and technology of air breathing propulsion systems.

Aspi R. Wadia
GE Aviation (retired)
For sustained excellence, global impact, and revolutionary research and development in gas turbine aerodynamics.

2024 AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement Technology Award
This award is presented for continued contributions and achievements toward the advancement of advanced aerodynamics flowfield and surface measurement techniques for research in flight and ground test applications.

Paul M. Danehy
NASA Langley Research Center
For the development and application of optical and laser-based measurement techniques supporting NASA’s aeronautics and space exploration missions.

2024 AIAA de Florez Award for Flight Simulation
This award is presented for an outstanding individual achievement in the application of flight simulation to aerospace training, research, and development.

Marinus Maria van Paassen
Delft University
For key contributions to the fields of human-in-the-loop vehicle simulation, real-time and distributed simulation software, and aerospace human factors.

2024 AIAA Energy Systems Award
This award is presented for a significant contribution in the broad field of energy systems, specifically as related to the application of engineering sciences and systems engineering to the production, storage, distribution, and conservation of energy.

Chih-Jen Sung
University of Connecticut
For outstanding contributions to flame dynamics and low-temperature chemistry for developing fuel-flexible, ultra-low emission, efficient combustion energy systems using conventional and alternative fuels.

2024 AIAA Intelligent Systems Award
This award is presented to recognize important fundamental contributions to intelligent systems technologies and applications that advance the capabilities of aerospace systems.

Randal W. Beard
Brigham Young University
For his innovative contributions to the guidance and control of autonomous aircraft and to the mentoring and training of the next generation of aerospace leaders.

2024 AIAA Mechanics and Control of Flight Award
This award is presented for an outstanding recent technical or scientific contribution by an individual in the mechanics, guidance, or control of flight in space or the atmosphere.

David Mitchell
Mitchell Aerospace Research
For industry-defining research and globally recognized leadership in flying qualities, handling qualities, and PIO evaluation in both fixed wing and rotary wing vehicles.

2024 AIAA Propellants and Combustion Award
This award is presented for outstanding technical contributions to aeronautical or astronautical combustion engineering.

Jeffrey Cohen
RTX Corporation
For outstanding contributions to sprays, combustion control, and gas turbine combustion.

2024 AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics, & Materials Award
This award is presented to an individual who has been responsible for an outstanding sustained technical or scientific contribution in aerospace structures, structural dynamics, or materials.

Carlos E. S. Cesnik
University of Michigan
For seminal contributions to research and education in structural modeling, dynamics, and health monitoring emphasizing multiphysics effects in very flexible aircraft, rotorcraft, and hypersonic vehicles.

2024 AIAA Survivability Award
This award is presented to an individual or a team to recognize outstanding achievement or contribution in design, analysis, implementation and/or education of survivability in an aerospace system.

Gary C. Wollenweber
GE Aerospace
For exceptional contributions during a longstanding career in aircraft engine thermal design that has led to improved aircraft survivability through IR signature reduction.

2024 AIAA Wyld Propulsion Award
This award is presented for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems.

Joseph Majdalani
Auburn University
For groundbreaking theoretical modeling and research on cyclonic rocket engines, revolutionizing the understanding of these and many other liquid, solid, and hybrid rocket engines.

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

AIAA Releases Implementation Paper on Digital Twins in Aerospace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Collaboration with AIA and NAFEMS Advocates for Industry Adoption

January 26, 2023 – National Harbor, Maryland – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today released an implementation paper to advance the use of Digital Twins across the aerospace industry at the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum. The paper, “Digital Twin: Reference Model, Realizations & Recommendations,” is a collaboration with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), and the Americas Regional Steering Committee of the International Association for the Engineering Modelling, Analysis and Simulation Community (NAFEMS). The paper is available for download on the AIAA website.

“Digital transformation is the fourth industrial revolution. The aerospace industry needs to accelerate its adoption and realization of Digital Twins to achieve the value and benefits from this technology advancement,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher.

Co-authors John F. Matlik, Engineering Digital Transformation Lead, Rolls-Royce Defense, and Olivia J. Pinon Fischer, Senior Research Engineer and Division Chief – Digital Engineering Division, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,
discussed the paper during forum this week in National Harbor, Maryland. During the session entitled, Digital Twin and Digital Thread Integration, they shared the specific next steps toward Digital Twin implementation advocated for in the paper:

Create and/or leverage an existing Aerospace Digital Transformation Consortium (ADTC) that will champion and coordinate implementation and consistency management efforts across industry, academia, and government.
Launch an initial pathfinder effort on Joint All Domain Command & Control (JADC2).

The AIAA Digital Engineering Integration Committee authored the paper, with approval from the AIAA Public Policy Committee. In addition, substantial contributions were made by The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Patterns Working Group, and The Digital Twin Consortium, a community of the Object Management Group (OMG).

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

Aerospace America: U.S. Air Force Electrified Aircraft Program Gets Help From Congress on Tech Transition Goal

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