FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2025 – Las Vegas – AIAA announced its 2024-2025 section award winners during its Regional Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The section awards honor particularly notable achievements made by members of AIAA’s 58 sections around the world in a range of activities that help fulfill the Institute’s mission. Section awards are given annually in eight categories based on the size of each section’s membership. Each winning section receives a certificate and a cash award. The award period is 1 June 2024–31 May 2025.
“Across AIAA, local sections and student branches are where the action begins. We believe dynamic local communities are the core of AIAA member engagement. They’re essential to the Institute’s success. Congratulations to these sections and student branches for their noteworthy achievements!” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry.
The Outstanding Section Award is presented to sections based upon their overall activities and contributions through the year. The winners are:
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- First Place: Delaware
- Second Place: Wisconsin
- Third Place: Adelaide
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- First Place: Illinois
- Second Place (tie): Greater Philadelphia
- Second Place (tie): Indiana
- Third Place: Palm Beach
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- First Place: San Diego
- Second Place: Tucson
- Third Place: Tennessee
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- First Place: Saint Louis
- Second Place: North Texas
- Third Place: Houston
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- First Place: Los Angeles
- Second Place: New England
- Third Place: Hampton Roads
The Communications Award is presented to sections that have developed and implemented an outstanding communications outreach program. Winning criteria include level of complexity, timeliness, and variety of methods of communications, as well as frequency, format, and content of the communication outreach. The winners are:
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- First Place: Delaware, Zachary Gent (Northrop Grumman Defense Systems), section chair
- Second Place: Central Coast of California, Matthew Tanner (United States Space Force), secretary
- Third Place: Adelaide, Michael Evans (University of South Australia), university liaison officer
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- First Place: Indiana, Hannah Snyderburn (Naval Surface Warfare Center), communications officer
- Second Place (tie): Michigan, Pradip Sagdeo, section chair
- Second Place (tie): Greater Philadelphia, Matthew Johnson (Saker Shoprites Inc), communications officer
- Third Place: Long Island, David Paris, section chair
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- First Place: San Diego, Steven Jacobson (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc), secretary
- Second Place: Carolina, Will Stavanja (USTRC), vice chair, Greensboro Chapter
- Third Place: Tennessee, Phillip Kreth (University of Tennessee Space Institute), section chair; Taylor Swanson (AEDC), council member
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- First Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
- Second Place (tie): Northern Ohio, Edmond Wong (NASA Glenn Research Center), communications officer
- Second Place (tie): Saint Louis, Mario Santos (The Boeing Company), communications officer
- Third Place (tie): Albuquerque, Robert Malseed, treasurer
- Third Place (tie): Houston, Kendall Mares (Jacobs), University Liaison Officer
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- First Place: Los Angeles, Kenneth Lui (Ken’s Consulting), website editor officer
- Second Place: New England, Aaryan Nagarkatti (GE Aerospace Research), social media officer; DurgeshChandel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), publicity officer
- Third Place: Hampton Roads, Soumyo Dutta (NASA Langley Research Center), newsletter editor
The Membership Award is presented to sections that have supported their membership by planning and implementing effective recruitment and retention campaigns. The winners are:
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- First Place: Delaware, Zachary Gent (Northrop Grumman Defense Systems), section chair
- Second Place: Wisconsin, Todd Treichel (Sierra Space), section chair
- Third Place: Adelaide, Patrick Neumann (Neumann Space), section chair
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- First Place: Illinois, Andrew Touvannas (Woodward Inc.), honors & awards chair; David Caroll (CU Aerospace LLC), vice chair
- Second Place: Indiana, Anand Nageswaran Bharath (Cummins Inc.), STEM K-12 officer
- Third Place: Michigan, Pradip Sagdeo, section chair
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- First Place: San Diego, Joel Perez (Solar Turbines Inc.), regional advisory council representative
- Second Place: Tucson, Dan Rouhani (Composite Construction), treasurer
- Third Place: Carolina, Monika Bubacz (Boeing Company), treasurer
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- First Place: Saint Louis, Alex Friedman (The Boeing Company), membership officer
- Second Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
- Third Place: Northern Ohio, Jonah Sachs-Westone (NASA Glenn Research Center), membership officer
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- First Place: Los Angeles, Sherry Stukes, membership officer
- Second Place (tie): Greater Huntsville, Terri Tramel, membership officer
- Second Place (tie): New England, Osa Osaretin (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), treasurer; Hiro Endo (Schenck USA Corp Test Devices by Schenck), advisor; Peter Dentch (Pratt & Whitney), STEM K-12 officer; Jimmy Wetzel(Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc.), vice chair
- Third Place (tie): Dayton-Cincinnati, Caleb Barnes (AFRL/RQVA), membership officer
- Third Place (tie): Hampton Roads, Richard Winski (NASA Langley Research Center), membership officer
The Public Policy Award is presented for stimulating public awareness of the needs of aerospace research and development, particularly on the part of government representatives, and for educating section members about the value of public policy activities. The winners are:
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- First Place: Wisconsin, Todd Treichel (Sierra Space), section chair
- Second Place: Adelaide, Patrick Neumann (Neumann Space), section chair
- Third Place: Delaware, Di Ena Davis, public policy officer
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- First Place: Palm Beach, Shawna Christenson (Aerospace and Innovation Academy), public policy office
- Second Place: Illinois, Mordechai Levin (MasterFlight Foundation), public policy officer
- Third Place: Phoenix, Aiden Bramer (Chipton-Ross), former section chair
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- First Place: San Diego, Mike Curtin, public policy officer
- Second Place: Carolina, Theodoros Spanos (Boeing Company), past chair
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- First Place: Houston, Christine Dubbert, program officer
- Second Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
- Third Place: Albuquerque, Mark Fraser (U.S Air Force), public policy office
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- First Place: Hampton Roads, Steven Dunn (Amentum), public policy officer
- Second Place: National Capital, Michael Barton (a.i. solutions Inc), vice chair operations officer
- Third Place (tie): Rocky Mountain, Lisa Luedtke (Lockheed Martin Space Systems), public policy officer
- Third Place (tie): Los Angeles, Daniel Scalese (University of Southern California), public policy officer
The STEM K–12 Award is presented to sections that have developed and implemented an outstanding STEM K–12 outreach program that provides quality education resources for K–12 teachers in the STEM subject areas. The winners are:
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- First Place: Delaware, Kirstin Walz (Northrop Grumman Mission Systems), STEM K-12 officer
- Second Place: Wisconsin, Ruby Kleijwegt (Sierra Space), communications officer
- Third Place: Central Coast of California, Thomas Stevens (Space Launch Delta 30), STEM K-12 officer
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- First Place: Palm Beach, Kevin Simmons (BLUECUBE Aerospace), STEM K-12
- Second Place: Illinois, Pamela Greyer (NASA Aeronautics Education Laboratory), STEM K-12 officer.
- Third Place (tie): Northern New Jersey, Yin Chen (US Army ARDEC), honors and awards chair
- Third Place (tie): Northwest Florida, Crystal Pasiliao (Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office), STEM K-12 officer
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- First Place: San Diego, Rich Kenney (AeroED Group), STEM K-12 officer
- Second Place: Tennessee, Meghan Morris (University of Tennessee Space Institute), outreach coordinator
- Third Place: Tucson, Rajka Corder (Raytheon), former STEM K-12 officer
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- First Place: Saint Louis, Jackie Blumer (Greenville Jr High School), STEM K-12 officer
- Second Place: Orange County, Binay Pandey, STEM K-12 officer
- Third Place: Cape Canaveral, Melissa Sleeper (Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy), STEM K-12 officer
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- First Place: Los Angeles, Arpie Ovsepyan (Herbert Hoover High School), STEM K-12 officer
- Second Place (tie): National Capital, Susan Bardenhagen, STEM K-12 officer
- Second Place (tie): Hampton Roads, Karen Berger (NASA Langley Research Center), STEM K-12 officer; Franklin Turbeville (NASA Langley Research Center), young professionals officer
- Third Place: Dayton-Cincinnati, Jose Camberos (Air Force Research Laboratory), STEM K-12 officer; Samuel Atchison (Air Force Institute of Technology), deputy director STEM K-12 outreach officer
The Section-Student Branch Partnership Award recognizes the most effective and innovative collaboration between professional section members and student branch members.
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- First Place: Adelaide, Zehao Liu (University of Adelaide), student branch liaison
- Second Place: Wisconsin, Ander Baumann (Sierra Space), young professionals officer
- Third Place: Delaware, David McGrath (Northrop Grumman Defense Systems), technical officer
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- First Place: Illinois, Laura Villafañe Roca (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), section chair; Matthew Brotnow, university liaison officer
- Second Place: Twin Cities, Robert Halverson, university liaison officer
- Third Place: Greater Philadelphia, Chris Reynolds (Lockheed Martin Space Systems), STEM K-12 officer
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- First Place: San Diego, Gary Fogel (Natural Selection Inc.), students activities officer
- Second Place: Tucson, John Allen (University of Arizona), young professionals officer
- Third Place: Southwest Texas, Christopher Combs (University of Texas at San Antonio), section chair
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- First Place: North Texas, Mauricio Nava (University of Texas, Arlington), student branch chair of UTA; Ben Jeffery (University of Texas, Arlington), chapter chair of UTA
- Second Place: Saint Louis, Joseph Richard (Boeing), university education officer
- Third Place: Houston, Kendall Mares (Jacobs), STEM K-12 officer
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- First Place: New England, Shreyas Hegde (Pratt & Whitney), section chair; Jimmy Wetzel (Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc.), vice chair; Osa Osaretin (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), treasurer; Peter Dentch (Pratt & Whitney), STEM K-12 officer; Durgesh Chandel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), publicity officer; Nandita Hari (GE Aerospace Research), professional development officer
- Second Place: Los Angeles, Ian Clavio (Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems), university education officer
- Third Place: Rocky Mountain, Lynnane George (University of Colorado), outreach officer
The Young Professional Activity Award is presented for excellence in planning and executing events that encourage the participation of the Institute’s young professional members, and provide opportunities for leadership at the regional, or national level. The winners are:
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- First Place: Delaware, Kirstin Walz (Northrop Grumman Mission Systems), STEM K-12 officer
- Second Place: Wisconsin, Maddie Shipshock (Sierra Space), university and industry partnership officer
- Third Place: Adelaide, Daniel Kilonzo (University of Adelaide), vice chair
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- First Place: Palm Beach, Karl Roush (Georgia Institute of Technology), young professionals officer
- Second Place: Greater Philadelphia, Jonathan Moore (Lockheed Martin Space Systems), section chair
- Third Place: Indiana, Michael Nunez (Rolls-Royce Corp), STEM K-12 co-chair
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- First Place: San Diego, Jema Matthews, young professionals officer
- Second Place: Tucson, Dan Rouhani (Composite Construction), treasurer
- Third Place: Antelope Valley, Isabella Villano, technical vice chair
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- First Place: Saint Louis, Kyler Schaetzle (Boeing Engineering Operations & Technology), young professionals officer; Paola Diaz-Portela, co-chair young professionals
- Second Place: Houston, Andrzej Jackowski (NASA Johnson Space Center), social media officer
- Third Place: North Texas, James Sergeant, section chair
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- First Place: Los Angeles, Luis Cuevas (Lockheed Martin Aeronautics), section chair
- Second Place: New England, Shreyas Hegde (Pratt & Whitney), section chair; Jimmy Wetzel (Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc.), vice chair; Osa Osaretin (MIT Lincoln Laboratory), treasurer; Peter Dentch (Pratt & Whitney), STEM K-12 officer; Durgesh Chandel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), publicity officer; Nandita Hari (GE Aerospace Research), professional development officer
- Third Place: Greater Huntsville, Bob Tramel
The Outstanding Activity Award allows the Institute to acknowledge sections that held an outstanding activity deserving of additional recognition. The winners are:
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- Central Coast of California, 40th Annual AIAA Central Coast STEM Exposition. The 40th Annual Central Coast STEM Exposition, held 2–3 May 2025 at Cabrillo High School, supported 80 projects, over 140 students, and five schools participating with the aid of over 50 judges and 10 other volunteers from across Vandenberg Space Force Base. Over $1,500 in cash and plaques sponsored by local professional organizations and companies were awarded to the top scored students at the awards reception attended by over 160 students, parents, teachers, and administrators. On Saturday, 3 May, two FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams from Arroyo Grande and Santa Ynez High Schools demonstrated their current robots to attendees. Also present were members of Darth Vader’s 501st Legion in full costume regalia for photo ops. Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 Commander, was keynote speaker, and Christina Settje, Crestview Elementary School Principal, welcomed the attendees. Long-time participating teacher Karen Hamner, science teacher at La Honda STEAM Elementary School, was recognized for her decades of service to this event. A partnered team of contractors, professional organizations, school district representatives, and base personnel come together annually to make this event a success. It was a great team effort between the base and the Lompoc Unified School District!
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- Sydney, Disappearance and Search for VH MDX. In collaboration with RAeS UNSW ADFA and NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue, AIAA Sydney Section held held an event to examine one of the greatest unsolved aviation mysteries in Australia. During the night of 9 August 1981, a Cessna 210 VH-MDX, on a flight to Sydney with five people on board, disappeared over the area of Barrington Tops. Forty years later, despite annual searches by NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue, the airplane and its occupants have still not been found. Glenn Horrocks, Deputy Unit Commander, NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue Unit, discussed his 30-year research efforts and years of searching for the lost airplane and its passengers. About 100 people attended in person, with another 500+ views of the recording on the section’s YouTube channel.
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- Tucson, Kitt Peak Observing Program with AIAA Tucson Section. On 26 October 2024, the local community and AIAA members were invited to a night under the stars at the Kitt Peak National Observatory’s Visitor Center. During this special program, hosted by AIAA Tucson, participants spent four hours gazing through several of the very large and world-renowned telescopes to view the wonders of the universe.
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- Louis, STEM in Action: Engineering the Future at the Challenger Learning Center. On 6 February 2025, the AIAA St. Louis Section partnered with the Challenger Learning Center (CLC) to provide 40 middle school students from an underrepresented rural community in Missouri with the chance to execute a hands-on simulated space mission to Mars. The CLC St. Louis site features an immersive space mission simulation environment, including a mission control room and a spacecraft, where participants must cooperate to learn and succeed together. The students and their teachers from Strain-Japan Elementary (K-8) began the event with a hands-on rocket-making activity in the afternoon. Then students were introduced to 20 AIAA St. Louis Section volunteers, including AIAA Student Members, Young Professionals, Senior Members, and Educator Associates. During a Q&A session students were able to ask real engineering students and professionals questions like, “how much money does an engineer make,” “what were your favorite subjects in school,” and “why can’t you talk about your [DoD classified] statement of work?” Next students were assigned to either a Mission Control post or Crew Module position, and with a nearly 1-to-1 volunteer-to-student ratio were able to exercise their STEM skills to execute a Mars science mission. This included the Space Weather team flagging concerns of a nearby asteroid, and the Crew Module being safely extracted from planet surface and back to the orbiting station. Following an asteroid impact near Mars surface biology and geology operations, the Mission Control and Crew Module teams were swapped so that the former team could conduct damage control and rescue operations. By the end of the event, the students had learned many lessons such as 1) what it means to be a “real” engineer; 2) why science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are important fields to pursue; 3) how to work together as a team, using STEM skills to dynamically solve problems in real time; and 4) why safety and human factors are so paramount to space travel.
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- Los Angeles, Recognition: AIAA Honorary Fellow Class of 2024, Professor Azad Madni of USC. The AIAA Los Angeles Section held an event in August 2024, with the University of Southern California to recognize Class of 2024 AIAA Honorary Fellow Azad Madni. It was a great opportunity to learn more about Prof. Azad Madni’s inspiring life and career, and his great accomplishments and contributions.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
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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 www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter.