Having been driven into the virtual world for the better part of a year by a pandemic, aviation and aerospace luminaries emerged in person to celebrate the industry’s best and brightest at Aviation Week’s 64th annual Laureate Awards. Before an audience of nearly 250 guests gathered in a ballroom outside Washington, Aviation Week editors presented some two dozen awards, honoring accomplishments that included a helicopter on Mars, a certified electric airplane, aviation’s role in the speedy development of a COVID-19 vaccine and an initiative to teach people with disabilities how to fly. Also honored were two Lifetime Achievement winners and two dozen top students pursuing aviation or aerospace careers (AW&ST Oct. 11-24, p. 62). “This year’s awards are extra special as they salute achievements made during one of the most trying periods our industry has ever experienced,” Aviation Week Editorial Director Joe Anselmo told the winners. “Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we put our heads down and pushed ahead, innovating and charting new frontiers.”

2021 Laureate Winners

SPACE

Dan Hart, Virgin Orbit

Northrop Grumman Mission Extension Vehicle

SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2

Grand Laureate: NASA/JPL Mars Ingenuity

DEFENSE

Boeing Airpower Teaming System

GE Aviation XA100

U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Golden Horde

Grand Laureate: U.S. Space Force Establishment

COMMERCIAL AVIATION

Michael Schoellhorn, Airbus

Boeing Sustainable Aviation Fuel Initiative

GE Aviation Junior Officer Leadership Program

Grand Laureate: Boeing 737 MAX Joint Authorities Technical Review

BUSINESS AVIATION

Aerobility

International Aircraft Dealers Association

Pfizer Corporate Flight Department

Grand Laureate: Pipistrel Velis Electro

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin

Robert Leduc, Pratt & Whitney (2020 winner)

TOMORROW’S LEADERS

Midshipman Lt. Dan Curren, U.S. Naval Academy

Cadet 3/c Alexander W. Regan, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Cadet Capt. Emma Sophia San Martin, U.S. Military Academy

Cadet 1st Class Benjamin Waters, U.S. Air Force Academy

Space

Commercial Aviation

Defense

Business Aviation

The 64th annual Laureate Awards event culminated with recognition of Tomorrow’s Leaders. The 20 Twenties, top students pursuing careers in aerospace and aviation, were profiled in our Oct. 11-24 issue, starting on page 62.

Marillyn Hewson (right) joined Lockheed in 1983 as an industrial engineer and rose through 20 management positions to become Lockheed Martin’s first female chair and CEO in 2013.

Before stepping down as CEO in mid-2020, Hewson earned a reputation as one of the most accomplished U.S. chief executives, presiding over the challenging ramp-up of the global F-35 program and achieving robust earnings and record backlogs. The award was presented by Aviation Week Executive Editor for Defense and Space Jen DiMascio.

Robert Leduc (right) won Aviation Week’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 but had to wait a year to accept it because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leduc came out of retirement to return to Pratt & Whitney as president, guiding the PW1000G geared turbofan engine program through a challenging service introduction and production ramp-up and setting it on a path to success. The award was presented by Aviation Week Senior Business Editor Michael Bruno.

Video Learn more about the careers of Hewson and Leduc:
AviationWeek.com/Marillyn-Hewson
AviationWeek.com/Robert-Leduc