Receiving recognition for a job well done, particularly in a public forum, always feels good. It feels even better when it’s from a group of peers outside your agency. That was the case on May 2 during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) annual Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.
Three NASA aeronautics researchers were among those inducted by the AIAA into the newest class of AIAA fellows – “people of distinction in aeronautics or astronautics who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology thereof.”
According to the AIAA leadership team, “While it is the aircraft, spacecraft, and programs that have enabled us to reach new heights, fly further, and go faster, it is the people — who design, test, build, and operate these incredible machines — who are the true power and strength of the aerospace community.”
— Parimal Kopardekar, NASA senior technologist for Air Transportation Systems from NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, for his global leadership in safely-enabling unmanned aircraft systems operations, and for landmark technical contributions in developing the concepts, technologies, and autonomy to revolutionize airspace operations.
— Stephen A. Rizzi, senior researcher for aeroacoustics from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for his exceptional contributions to flight vehicle acoustics in the areas of sonic fatigue and aircraft community noise.
— Steven D. Young, a senior systems engineer and principal investigator, also from NASA Langley, for his visionary leadership and extraordinary innovation in the avionics, flight deck systems, and aeronautical standards arenas that improved the safety and efficiency of commercial aviation operations.
Each year, the AIAA also confers honorary fellowships on people of eminence in the fields of aeronautics or astronautics in recognition for having had a long and highly contributive career in their industry. Dr. Charles Elachi, emeritus professor of electrical engineering and planetary science at the California Institute of Technology, received this honor for his distinguished leadership and sustained technical achievement that has fundamentally advanced and profoundly impacted the space science enterprise.
Elachi served as center director at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California for 15 years and retired on June 30, 2016.
