Aerospace Association Announces 2022 Premier Award Winners

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announces the 2022 recipients of its awards, the AIAA Premier Awards, recognizing the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace, whose contributions merit the highest accolades, the organization notes.

Presentation of the 2022 AIAA Premier Awards and recognition of the Institute’s Class of 2022 Honorary Fellows and Fellows will take place at the AIAA Awards Gala, Wednesday, April 27, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, DC. Tickets are available now. 

“Congratulations to our premier award winners,” says AIAA President Basil Hassan. “We are inspired by their hard work, skill, and achievements, and we thank them for their dedication to the aerospace industry. AIAA is committed to ensuring that aerospace professionals are recognized and celebrated for their achievements, innovations and discoveries that make the world safer, more connected, more accessible, and more prosperous.”

The winners are:

• AIAA Public Service Award—Lori B. Garver, Earthrise Alliance
• AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award—Peretz P. Friedmann, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• AIAA Distinguished Service Award—David A. Throckmorton, National Institute of Aerospace
• AIAA International Cooperation Award—Dominique Collin, Safran Group (retired)
• AIAA Engineer of the Year Award—Paul R. Gradl, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
• AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award—Kyle T. Alfriend, Texas A&M University
• AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award—Michael P. Snyder, Redwire Space

Award Citations

AIAA Public Service Award

The award honors a person who has demonstrated sustained and visible support for aviation and space goals.

• Lori B. Garver, Earthrise Alliance, honored “For sustained leadership in the arenas of public, private, and commercial aviation and aerospace research, development, technology transition, and mentorship.”

AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award

The highest honor AIAA bestows for notable achievements in the field of aeronautics. The award is named after Dr. Sylvanus A. Reed, aeronautical engineer, designer, and founding member of the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences in 1932.  

• Peretz P. Friedmann, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, honored “For inventing on-blade control for vibration reduction in rotorcraft and developing aerothermoelastic scaling laws facilitating hypersonic vehicle wind tunnel testing and design.”

AIAA Distinguished Service Award

AIAA recognizes an individual member who has provided distinguished service to the Institute over a period of years.

• David A. Throckmorton, National Institute of Aerospace, honored “For over three decades of leadership and exemplary service to AIAA at the section and national level.”

AIAA International Cooperation Award

The award is presented to a member who has made a recent individual contribution in the application of scientific and mathematical principles leading to a significant accomplishment or event worthy of AIAA’s national or international recognition.

• Dominique Collin, Safran Group (retired), honored “For sustained leadership in building international collaborations on noise and emissions reduction strategies for subsonic transport aircraft.”

AIAA Engineer of the Year Award

The award is presented to a member of the Institute who has made a recent individual, technical contribution in the application of scientific and mathematical principles leading to a significant technical accomplishment.

• Paul R. Gradl, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, recognized “For exceptional engineering and technical innovation developing metal additive manufacturing techniques, advanced materials, and large-scale techniques for rocket components while proactively promoting technology transfer.”

AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award

The highest honor AIAA bestows for notable achievement in the field of astronautics. It was endowed by Mrs. Goddard in the 1940s as the ARS Goddard Memorial Award to commemorate her husband, Robert H. Goddard—rocket visionary, pioneer, bold experimentalist, and superb engineer whose early liquid rocket engine launches set the stage for the development of astronautics.

• Kyle T. Alfriend, Texas A&M University, honored “For extraordinary contributions and advancements in the fields of orbital mechanics and space situational awareness.”

AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award

The award is presented for a notable contribution made by a young person, age 35 or under, to the advancement of aeronautics or astronautics. This award honors Lawrence B. Sperry, pioneer aviator and inventor, who died in 1923 in a forced landing while attempting a flight across the English Channel.

• Michael P. Snyder, Redwire Space, honored “For outstanding and notable contributions to advance in-space additive manufacturing to ensure safer, sustainable spaceflight missions and manufacturing industrial products to benefit Earth.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.