The AIAA North Texas Section and
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots present
Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy
Presentation & Book Signing
by Francis Gary Powers Jr.
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
7pm
UT Arlington SEIR Bldg., Room TBD
655 W Mitchell St, Arlington, TX 76010
Francis Gary Powers Sr. (pictured above) was an American pilot who served as a USAF officer and CIA employee. Powers was shot down while flying a secret CIA mission over the Soviet Union. He survived but was captured and sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison for espionage. Powers served 21 months of his sentence before being released in a prisoner swap in 1962, which was made into the 2015 Steven Spielberg thriller, Bridge of Spies, about the spy exchange between KGB spy Rudolph Abel and Gary Powers. After returning to the US, Gary Powers worked at Lockheed as a test pilot for the U-2 and later as a helicopter pilot for Los Angeles news station KNBC. He died in 1977, when the KNBC helicopter he was flying crashed.
Francis Gary Powers, Jr. is the son of Francis Gary Powers, Sr. He lectures internationally and appears regularly on C-SPAN, the History, Discovery, and A&E channels. Gary is the author of Letters from a Soviet Prison (2017), Spy Pilot (2019), Enemy Territory (2022), The Berlin Airlift (2024), Cold War Virginia (2024), and Protecting America: Cold War Defensive Sites (2024). He is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Cold War Museum located at Vint Hill, VA and was the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Cold War Theme Study which assisted the National Park Service to identify historic Cold War sites for preservation. In 2015, he consulted on Bridge of Spies. Gary is a past Board Member of the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace and an Honorary Board Member of the International Spy Museum. Because of his efforts to honor Cold War veterans the Junior Chamber of Commerce selected him as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Americans” for 2002. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy and Master's Degrees in Public Administration and U.S. History.
Congratulations 2025-26 AIAA North Texas Section Award Winners!
It was our pleasure to recognize excellence in North Texas aerospace at the AIAA North Texas “Texy” Awards Dinner 21 May 2026 at the UTA Library 6th Floor. Congratulations again to all the nominees and provided below is the summary of award winners. More event pictures and presentation slides are posted on the AIAA North Texas Engage Website.
Lt. Gen. (ret.) Charles “CR” Davis provided the keynote address: Lessons still to be learned, X-1 to F-47 and the Apollo Lunar Module to Artemis 4--More Questions than Answers.
$500 High School Senior Scholarship
Awab Badawi, Trinity High school
$500 College Undergraduate Student Scholarship
Deeva Khanuja, UTA
Dr. Don Seath Award for Outstanding University Faculty
Dr. Liang Sun, Baylor University
Outstanding High School Educator
Mr. Bryan Harston, HEB Technology Center
High School Student of the Year
Eugenia Jin, Grapevine High School (Eugenia’s mom pictured above accepting award)
College Student of the Year
Austen Smith, UTA
Dr. Jack Fairchild Award for Best AIAA North Texas College Event
UTA AIAA Student Branch - Southwest Aerospace Symposium co-host
Dr. Don Wilson Award for AIAA North Texas Young Professional of the Year
Alex Doriski, L3 Harris
Outstanding Aerospace Achievement by a North Texas Individual
Stephen Atkins, UTA - 1st Place 2026 AIAA Region IV Student Paper Conference, Graduate Division
Outstanding Aerospace Achievement by a North Texas Team
UT Dallas Design-Build-Fly Team - 23rd out of 93 teams
Outstanding AIAA Support Awards
AIAA North Texas Student Member
Mi Vo - UTD Student Branch President
Texas Young Professional Member
Yen Pham – Luft Org App
North Texas Professional Member
Michael Filippidis, LM Missiles and Fire Control - AIAA HQ coordination
North Texas Company or Organization
SETP Southwest Section - Southwest Aerospace Symposium co-host
2026-27 AAIA North Texas Council
Having received no further nominations from NTX membership, the following officers and advisory board members are accepted by acclimation.
Chair - Mr. James Sergeant, LM/GD, VG (Ret.), AIAA Associate Fellow
Vice Chair - Mr, Lucas Anderson, LMSW, AIAA Young Professional
Treasurer - Mr. Jon Dean, Pike Engineering, AIAA Member
Secretary - Mr. Dana Johnson, LM (Ret.), AIAA Member
Advisory Board
Mr. Jim Acree - AIAA Senior Member, USN, FAA, American Airlines (retired); DER Test Pilot
Ms. Angela Buccio - AIAA Young Professional, Bell Textron
Lt. Gen. (ret.) Charles “CR” Davis - AIAA Member, L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
Dr. Dennis Finley - AIAA Associate Fellow, Lockheed Martin (Ret.)
Mr. Mike Fox - AIAA Associate Fellow, NASA/GD/Lockheed Martin (Ret.)
Mr. Chris Hughes - AIAA Senior Member, Lockheed Martin
Ms. Deeva Khanuja - AIAA Student Member, UTA AIAA
Mr. Paul Park - AIAA Fellow, GD/LM, UTA Design Instructor (Ret.)
Dr. Liwei Zhang - AIAA Associate Fellow, UTA Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering