FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2023 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Sustained Service Awards. The award recognizes “sustained, significant service and contributions to AIAA by members of the Institute.”
“AIAA volunteers are the aerospace community’s greatest resource,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA executive director. “These AIAA members lead by example, using their talent and energy to guide the community. We are grateful for their dedication and hard work.”
Recipients must be AIAA members in good standing who have shown continuing dedication to the interests of the Institute by making significant and sustained contributions over a period of time, typically 10 years or more. Active participation and service at the local section/regional level, and/or the national level is a potential discriminator in the evaluation of candidates.
The 2023 Sustained Service Awards winners are:
David L. Carroll, CU Aerospace LLC
Citation: For distinguished and sustained service to AIAA; the enhancement of science, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership in aerospace engineering; and education of scientist engineers.Carroll co-founded CU Aerospace in 1998 and has served as its president since 2011. The company’s focus is engineering innovation for new aerospace technology products. He received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1992. Carroll is an AIAA Fellow.
John W. Daily, University of Colorado Boulder
Citation: In recognition of sustained contributions to the Institute’s technical services, publications, and education committees.Daily is Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1975. He works in the field of combustion and fire. He has served AIAA in numerous positions and is an AIAA Fellow.
Luisella Giulicchi, European Space Agency
Citation: For over two decades of service to the Institute’s governance, regional organization, and technical activities, and for being the advocate of international cooperation and AIAA engagement worldwide.Giulicchi is a system manager at the European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands, for the Copernicus Program – the largest operational Earth observation program in the world. Her technical and programmatic management contributions include Bepi Colombo, SMART-1, LISA Pathfinder, Copernicus Sentinel-1, and Copernicus Sentinel-6. She is an AIAA Associate Fellow, RAeS Fellow, WIA-Europe President, and past member of the AIAA Board of Directors.
Walter O. Gordon, Moog Inc. (retired); Colonel, U.S. Air Force (retired)
Citation: For exceptional service to AIAA and for significant advancement of aerospace activities.Gordon worked as an engineer in Western New York for 41 years before retiring recently to devote his time to the AIAA Niagara Frontier Section and to local aerospace history. He also flew C130s in the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 2014 as the commander of the 914th Airlift Wing.
Dawn Phillips, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Citation: In honor of 20 years of dedicated service, leadership, and tireless work on behalf of AIAA, the AIAA Structures Technical Committee, and AIAA members.With NASA, Phillips has supported the Space Shuttle, Ares, and SLS programs as a stress analyst and member of the NESC Structures Team. She is currently in Huntsville, Ala., as the MSFC Assistant Chief Engineer for the International Space Station.
Sidra Silton, U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory
Citation: For two decades of dedicated service to the applied aerodynamics and fluid dynamics technical communities.Silton received her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Upon graduation she began working for the Army Research Laboratory where she now serves as Chief of the Mechanical Sciences Division. Silton is an AIAA Associate Fellow.
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.








Stephen Monroe just completed his first year as an M.S. student in Mechanical Engineering at Clarkson University. He received his B.S. from Clarkson University in 2022. In his senior year, Monroe began learning CFD algorithms and HPC in the research group of Professor Chunlei Liang. During the first year of graduate study, Monroe conducted URANS studies of an ONR waterjet propulsion unit on parallel computers. He also is performing large eddy simulations of the same propulsion system to examine finer flow structures. Monroe is determined to become a skillful computational fluid dynamicist in large eddy simulations using an open-source code before completing his M.S. program. While uncertain about his future in academia, Monroe intends on using the skills he has developed to become a proficient propulsion system designer.“Coming into the Graduate School, I only intended on achieving an M.S. degree. Having been recognized for my hard work by the Abe Zarem award, not only has my passion for research been rejuvenated, but my consideration of furthering my education has as well,” said Monroe.
Monroe’s faculty advisor, Chunlei Liang, is Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Clarkson University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of London in 2005. Liang is an ASME Fellow and an AIAA Associate Fellow.
Quentin Roberts is an M.S. student at the University of Washington studying aeronautics and astronautics with a concentration in fluids. His research is on injector mixing in rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs). Roberts will start work in fall 2023 as a propulsion analyst at Blue Origin. “Receiving this award will allow me to greatly expand my horizons in the world of astronautics by not only providing an opportunity to learn about what research the international community is working on, but also an opportunity to present my own research to an international audience,” said Roberts.
Roberts’ faculty advisor, Carl Knowlen, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Washington in 1983 and 1985, respectively. He continued with his graduate research on ram accelerators at the UW and completed his Ph.D. program in 1991. Dr. Knowlen then accepted a Postdoctoral Research Associate position with the UW Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and has been teaching AA Department courses on a regular basis since 2002.
