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AIAA North Texas Section “Texy” Awards
Call for Nominations - Due 30 April 2026
21 May at UT Arlington
6pm
Dinner & Awards Program - $25 per person
Make Award Nomination
Purchase Event Tickets
AIAA North Texas Section Awards will be presented for the categories below, primarily for the period of the last AIAA Fiscal Year June 2025 through May 2026. Several of the awards are named in honor of the former UTA Aerospace Engineering professors who established and led the initial program at UTA. All serious nominations will be considered with final award announcements at the event itself (except for scholarship winners who will be notified ahead of time). All nominations should not exceed 1 page, not including endorsements/letters of recommendation (maximum 2). Judging will be by the North Texas Section Officers and Advisory Board.

Keynote: Lt. Gen. Charles “CR” Davis (ret.) 

CR is an active experimental test pilot with L3Harris with 250+ test hours in–AT-802 and OA-1K Skyraider.  Conducting envelope expansion, engine airstarts, handling qualities and mission systems testing as L3Harris converts AT-802 into USAF’s OA-1K. Retired in 2014 as Military Deputy to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition;) responsible for R&D, test, production, and modernization programs.  Commanded Electronic Systems Center—was Program Executive for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks at Hanscom AFB, responsible for JSTARS, AWACS, and other classified aviation programs.  Commanded Air Armament Center and Air Force Development Test Center Eglin AFB.  Active F-16 Test Pilot—Program Executive Officer for Weapons.  Directed development/test of weapons including variants of the AMRAAM missile, Small Diameter Bomb II, Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile and first variant of Massive Ordinance Penetrator. Held key program management positions: Director F-15 Development and Acquisition; T-6A Texan II System Program Director; F-15 System Program Director; and F-35 JSF Program Executive Officer. Oversaw development and first flights of F-35A/B.  Commanded 412^th Test Wing Edwards AFB.  Commanded the 410^th Flight Test Squadron, F/YF-117A Combined Test Force. Distinguished Grad USAF TPS Class 87B; Distinguished Grad, BS Chemistry USAFA; MS Mechanical Eng, California State Univ Fresno.

2026 Award Categories
& Last Year’s Winners

$500 High School Senior Scholarship 
GPA, public service, activities, aerospace career goal (need not be for university, can be technical/mechanical/pilot/ATC goal), and AIAA activities will be considered for student attending North Texas high school.
Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Saarang Sivakumar - Lebanon Trail High School, Frisco

$500 College Undergraduate Student Scholarship 
GPA, public service, activities, aerospace career goal, and AIAA activities will be considered for student attending North Texas college.
Last Year’s Winner: Ms. Deeva Khanuja - UT Arlington
Dr. Don Seath Award for Outstanding University Faculty
This award honors former UTA Aerospace Dept. Chair Dr. Don Seath (above) for his years of service to the aerospace education profession and for helping to establish the initial Aerospace Engineering program at UTA. Service/support for students, other faculty, programs, university, technical field, or AIAA will be considered for a North Texas instructor.
Last Year’s Winner: Dr. Zhen Xue Han (above), UT Arlington

Outstanding High School Educator
Service/support for students, other faculty, programs, university, technical field, or AIAA will be considered for a North Texas instructor.
Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Richard Griffith, Eagle Mountain ISD

High School Student of the Year
GPA, public service, activities, aerospace career goal, and AIAA activities will be considered for North Texas student.  Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Awab Badawi, Trinity High School, Euless

College Student of the Year
GPA, public service, activities, aerospace career goal, and AIAA activities will be considered for North Texas student.
Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Kevin Debord, UT Dallas

Dr. Jack Fairchild Award for Best AIAA North Texas College Event
This award honors former UTA Professor Dr. Jack Fairchild (above) for his years of service to the aerospace education profession with his VariEze aircraft building program for students and his support and promotion of AIAA. Any AIAA supported/organized/recognized collegiate event is eligible.

Last Year’s Winner: UT Dallas, 2025 AIAA Region IV
Student Paper Competition (above)

Dr. Don Wilson Award for AIAA North Texas Young Professional of the Year
This award honors former UTA Professor Dr. Don Wilson (above) for his years of service to UTA. Dr. Wilson (above) was responsible for the development of the Aerodynamics Research Center (https://arc.uta.edu/) and was the graduate advisor of NASA Astronaut Kalpana Chalwa. Professional achievements, service/support for AIAA will be considered. 

Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Adam Concha (above), Lockheed Martin

AIAA North Texas Outstanding Professional Achievement
Professional achievement, service/support for AIAA will be considered. 
Last Year’s Winner: Dr. Vijay Gopal, UT Arlington

Outstanding Aerospace Achievement by a North Texas Individual
Technical, research, education, or operations will be considered.
Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Jon Dean, UT Arlington

Outstanding Aerospace Achievement by a North Texas Team
Technical, research, education, or operations will be considered.
Last Year’s Winner: UT Dallas Design-Build-Fly Team

Outstanding AIAA Support Awards
Service/support for AIAA will be considered for each award below.

AIAA North Texas Student Member
Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Kevin Debord, UT Dallas

North Texas Young Professional Member  
Last Year’s Winner: Ms. Natalie Antis                           

North Texas Professional Member
Last Year’s Winner: Mr. Dana Johnson, Lockheed Martin

North Texas Company or Organization
Last Year’s Winner: UT Arlington AIAA Student Chapter

FALCON Hypersonic Technology Demonstration
Bob Wetherall
Lockheed Martin Program Manager (ret.), AIAA Associate Fellow
Baylor University
Rogers Room 109
Monday, 20 April 2026
12-1pm
Mr. Wetherall will present the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration program called FALCON (Force Application and Launch from CONUS). The program was awarded in 2004 to demonstrate long duration, hypersonic maneuvering flight from Phase II prototype design and build to successful flight test, which has advanced our national hypersonics capability and database. This program demonstrated the first-ever use of an entire aeroshell of shape-stable Advanced Carbon-Carbon for long duration endoatmospheric flight with a very high lift-to-drag ratio (>3).

Southwest Aerospace Symposium
Saturday, 28 March 2026
UT Arlington
SEIR Engineering Bldg., Room 294
0900-1700 hrs.

Keynote
Bob “Farmer” Hines (Colonel, U.S. Air Force), NASA Astronaut
NASA’s Manned Spaceflight Programs

Bob Hines was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. He reported to the Astronaut Office in August 2017. He has served more than 23 years in the United State Air Force (USAF) as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and a test pilot. Before his selection in 2017, he was serving as a Research Pilot at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He has accumulated more than 4,000 hours of flight time in 50 different types of aircraft and has flown 76 combat missions in 3 different aircraft types while supporting contingency operations around the world. Hines served as the pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which concluded on Oct. 14, 2022. The mission was the first spaceflight for Hines. He has logged 170 days in space, overseeing the arrival of crew and cargo, maintaining the space station, and conducting science experiments of various disciplines.

AIAA Rising Stars
College undergrads, apply today to receive free travel & admission to AIAA AVIATION or ASCEND!
Ignite your future and explore the frontiers of aerospace as a 2026 Rising Start at either AIAA AVIATION or ASCEND forums. Learn about the latest advancements and research and make connections with other students and professionals in the aerospace industry.
Must be full-time undergraduate student to apply.
Application Deadline 6 Feb. 2026 11pm CST
> Complimentary registration
> Round-trip economy airfare (up to designated cost limit)
> Hotel stay for duration of event
> Customized event schedule
> Small-group meetings with aerospace industry leaders
> Complimentary AIAA University student Membership for 1 year

Congratulations 2026 AIAA Fellows & Associate Fellows from North Texas!

The new Fellows & Associate Fellows were recognized at a special awards dinner at AIAA Sci-Tech in Orlando on 14 Jan. 

Fellows

Paul Park

Chief Engineer - Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Bell Helicopter, Northrop Grumman (retired)

For decades of pioneering leadership and innovative aircraft design, advancing frontiers of aeronautical technology and producing groundbreaking designs that fundamentally enhanced US Air combat effectiveness.

Lee Sampson

Fellows Program Mgr. - Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

For superb and pervasive contributions to the development of aerospace talent, enrichment of career experiences through AIAA, and maturations of critical aerospace talent.

Associate Fellows

Marcel Milanes         

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

For nationally relevant contributions to the nation’s defense as a former USAF airman and an innovator of military aerospace mechanical system technologies.

Linda O'Brien             
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

For decades of exceptional and inspired leadership committed to technical integrity, teamwork, and engineering excellence in the development of internationally prominent military aircraft programs.

Dr. Liang Sun
Baylor University

For the development and advancement of safe, efficient autonomy and multiagent coordination for next generation aerospace systems.

Dr. Liwei Zhang         
University of Texas at Arlington

For contributions to research in propulsion systems and education in aerospace engineering.

Congratulations UT Dallas Professor Dr. Arif Malik!
AIAA National Service Award
Dr. Malik provided exceptional support of the UT Dallas student section including special assistance with the 2025 AIAA Region IV Student Paper Conference hosted by UTD 28-29 March 2025.

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots, in collaboration with the AIAA North Texas Section, SFTE North Texas Chapter, and VFS Southwest Chapter, is pleased to announce the Southwest Aerospace Symposium will be held on 27 March 2026 in Arlington, TX. 
This year’s Symposium Co-Chairs are C.R. Davis (AF), SETP and James Sergeant ^F, AIAA.

This is an official call for abstracts

Each technical presentation selected is given a 30-minute slot, including 25 minutes for the technical presentation and 5 minutes for questions from the audience.
No proceedings are published for this Symposium therefore formal written papers are not required.
Those interested in presenting should submit an abstract by 4 February 2026 to:
Susan Bennett, SETP Headquarters
Email: Susan@setp.org

Baylor submits package to AIAA to establish Student Branch

Baylor Associate Professor Dr. Liang Sun, Department of Mechanical Engineering, along with the designated Baylor AIAA student officers and members have submitted the required university endorsements and information to become an official student branch, to join UT Arlington, UT Dallas, and Tarleton as existing student branches in North Texas. Baylor should hear back on their bid package by the end of January 2026. Sic ‘Em Bears!

Congratulations 2026 AIAA Associate Fellows from North Texas!

The new Associate Fellows will be recognized at a special awards dinner at AIAA Sci-Tech in Orlando, FL on 14 Jan. 

Marcel Milanes         
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

Linda O'Brien             
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

Dr. Liang Sun
Baylor University

Dr. Liwei Zhang         
University of Texas at Arlington

Follow us on new AIAA North Texas LinkedIn Page!
Click on Follow to get updates on events!

 CONGRATS North Texas Section!

AIAA North Texas did well again this last AIAA Section fiscal year (May 2024 – May 2025) winning the following Section Awards, presented at the AIAA Regional Leadership Conference (RLC) at AIAA ASCEND in Las Vegas 20 July 2025. A financial reward from AIAA is provided for each of these that support our programs and scholarships in North Texas.

AIAA North Texas Awards
Large-Section Category

1st Place
• Communications
• Section-Student Branch Partnership - Mauricio Nava (UTA Chapter President) and Ben Jeffery (UTD Chapter President)

2nd Place
• Outstanding Section
• Membership
• Public Policy

3rd Place
• Young Professionals Activity

In celebration of 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝘆, TOM is launching a global art and design challenge in collaboration with the Moon Village Association, @ASME DFW Section, Born Global Community , and TrueLeap.
TOM is calling on artists, students, and engineers to imagine what sustainable lunar mining could look like. Submit your visual design, illustration, or concept art 𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 for a chance to be showcased and win!

Congratulations to 2025 AIAA North Texas Nominees & Award Winners!
15 May 2025
UT Arlington

High School Senior Scholarship ($500)
- Sharan Sathish – Coppell High School

- Saarang Sivakumar - Lebanon Trail High School, Frisco
  > Active participant in outreach events (Moon Day 2024), NASA’s HS Aerospace Scholars, Camp SOAR at Texas A&M, Aerospace Corporation’s Aerospace Academy
  > Member of AIAA High School Subcommittee, Dallas Area Rocket Society (DARS), National Association of Rocketry (NAR), Tripoli Rocket Association, National Space Society, Academy of Model Aeronautics
  > 1 of only 160 Jr. Level 1 High-Power Rocketry flyers in US. US Jr. Nat. Team member competing at 2025 FAI World Space Modeling Championships (WSMC) Aug. in Serbia
  > 3.75 GPA, 1430 SAT, AP Scholar with distinction award, National Honor Society
  > Planning to attend Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach for BSAE in fall

College Undergraduate Student Scholarship ($500)

- Ms. Deeva Khanuja, UT Arlington
    > Aerospace Engineering sophomore
    > AIAA Student Member
    > Public Relations Officer for Aero Mavs
    > Launch team member for Aero Mavs at 2024 Spaceport America Cup Competition in New Mexico
    > Fluent in English, Punjabi; proficient in Hindi & Spanish 
    > Recognized for excellence in music and public speaking at regional and international levels.
    > Passionate about community service and education, actively volunteering as a coach, teacher’s aide, and music teacher 

Dr. Don Seath Award for Outstanding University Faculty

- Dr. Zhen Xue Han, UT Arlington

  > AIAA advisor from 2018 to 2024
  > Noted for care in course preparation, generosity with new faculty, and devotion to helping students learn
  > Happy to share his course content and advise  
  > Consistently works patiently with students in extended office hours and takes great pleasure in seeing a student come to grips with a concept
  > Voluntarily joins student-organized group study sessions prior to his exams
  > Stops by the MAE student organization study room just to see how things are going and to lend assistance to those studying for other courses
  > Tries new teaching methods to encourage students & keep them engaged
  > 4-time winner of most valuable faculty award at the MAE Senior Banquet
  > Generous with new faculty when they asking for guidance
  > Primary academic advisor for BSAE students for 20 years
  > Generously advises all new advisors and staff
  > Devoted to his students in the classroom and the advising office
  > Serves with a joyful disposition and embodies the spirit of academia

Outstanding High School Educator
- Mr. Bryan Harston, HEB ISD 
- Mr. Richard Griffith, Eagle Mountain ISD
  > Aerospace Engineering & Aviation teacher
  > Courses introduce students to aerospace engineering and aviation which culminate in rocket design, build, and flying in national and international competitions or ability to test for FAA commercial or basic ground school drone license
  > Aero 1 students learn flight fundamentals, aircraft and rocket design building a Hobby Class rocket to verify their designs then choose either the rocket or aviation track.
  > Aero 2 students design and build an Experimental Class rocket and focus extensively on aerospace engineering while their rocket is designed to go at least 100,000 feet, eventually to exceed 328,000 feet

High School Student of the Year
- Saarang Sivakumar, Lebanon Trail High School, Frisco
- Eugenia Jin, Grapevine High School         
- Awab Badawi, Trinity High School, Euless
  > Junior with 3.6 GPA
  > Attended Southwest Aerospace Symposium & Region V Student Conference|
  > Secured a manufacturing engineering internship at Bell for senior year
  > “What once felt out of reach became a tangible opportunity thanks to AIAA”

College Student of the Year
- Jon Dean, UT Arlington
- Deeva Khanuja, UT Arlington

- Kevin Debord, UT Dallas
  > Established current UTD AIAA Student Chapter & Past President
  > Continued to assist and advise the UTD Student Chapter as he completed his degree and internships

Dr. Jack Fairchild Award for Best AIAA North Texas College Event
- UT Arlington, 2024 Southwest Aerospace Symposium

- UT Dallas, 2025 AIAA Region IV Student Paper Competition
  > 35 Undergraduate, 14 Graduate, 20 Team paper presentations with 250 attendees
  > Cash prizes awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd in each category, 1st-place winners invited to AIAA Foundation International Student Conference at AIAA SciTech in January

Dr. Don Wilson Award for AIAA North Texas Young Professional of the Year
- Adam Concha

  > Instrumental in development of the AIAA North Texas App - Luft Orgs
  > Worked on App starting in fall of 2024 as a recent UTA MAE graduate
  > Responsible for most of current programming of new App (registered as a real App with Apple)

AIAA North Texas Outstanding Professional Achievement
- UT Dallas AIAA Student Chapter

- Dr. Vijay Gopal, UT Arlington

  > Led development of high-Reynolds number, supersonic wind tunnel designed entirely in-house
  > Uniquely enables studies of flight-relevant flow conditions for both external & internal high-speed aerodynamics, with modular capabilities supporting Mach 1.5 - 3.0 & advanced optical diagnostics
  > Pioneered use of femtosecond laser diagnostics in extreme environments, successfully implementing FLEET techniques in arc-jet flows - a major milestone in hypersonic ground testing
  > Doctoral work included groundbreaking contributions in vortex dynamics, where he resolved a longstanding singularity issue in classical supersonic lifting line theory, an achievement recognized by a featured article in Physics of Fluids
  > AIAA active Member, Session Chair 2023 25th AIAA International Space Planes & Hypersonic Systems & Technologies Conference

Outstanding AIAA Support by an AIAA North Texas Student Member
- Ben Jeffery, UT Dallas

- Kevin Debord, UT Dallas
  > Established current UTD AIAA Student Chapter & Past President
  > Continued to assist and advise the UTD Student Chapter as he completed his degree and internships

Outstanding AIAA Support by a North Texas Young Professional Member
- Dr. Elizabeth Ward, Bell

- Ms. Natalie Antis                           
  > AIAA North Texas Secretary since 2023
  > Past President of the AIAA UTA Student Chapter
  > Participated in UTA Career Fair 17 Sept. 2024 representing her new company.
  > Continues to support Moon Day STEM event every year at Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field in July

Outstanding AIAA Support by a North Texas Professional Member
- Dr. Dennis Finley, Lockheed Martin
- James Sergeant, GD/LM/VG Retired
- Ms. Amber Zuehl, Lockheed Martin

- Mr. Dana Johnson, Lockheed Martin
  > AIAA North Texas Section Treasurer
  > Initiated development of the Luft Orgs App, in development by intern volunteers
  > Helped North Texas win numerous AIAA awards, 2024 Outstanding Large Section 1st place

Outstanding AIAA Support by a North Texas Company or Organization
- UT Dallas AIAA Student Chapter 

- UT Arlington AIAA Student Chapter
  > Hosted 2024 Southwest Aerospace Symposium providing excellent facilities & student support
  > Joint Event of AIAA, SFTE, SETP
  > 8 Tech Presentation, 85 Registrants from DFW, US, and Canada with Keynote Speaker Art “Turbo” Tomassetti on Mission X Mindset

Outstanding Aerospace Achievement by a North Texas Individual
- Dr. Vijay Gopal, UT Arlington
- Jon Dean, UT Arlington
   > Chief Engineer 2024 Aero Mavs for Spaceport America Cup International Competition providing technical direction for UTA to design, build, and compete with a 30K' rocket
  > Jon continues to provide exceptional support for the UTA Aero Mavs & AIAA events

Outstanding Aerospace Achievement by a North Texas Team
- UT Arlington AIAA Student Chapter
- UT Arlington Aero Mavs Rocket Team

- UT Dallas Design-Build-Fly Team
  > 20th out of 112 International Teams from 14 countries
  > Objective: to design, build, & test an airplane to execute an X-1 Supersonic Flight Test Program, including launch of an X-1 test vehicle – an autonomous glider with flashing lights.
  > Only UT Austin, finishing 6^th, placed above UTD from AIAA Region IV (Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico).