AIAA Announces 2025 Premier Award Winners

RESTON, Va., Jan. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is pleased to announce the 2025 recipients of the AIAA Premier Awards, recognizing the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace whose outstanding contributions merit the highest accolades.

AIAA will present the awards during the AIAA Awards Gala on Wednesday, 30 April, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, DC. The Institute also will recognize its Class of 2025 Honorary Fellows and Fellows at the AIAA Awards Gala. Tickets will be available to purchase in the coming weeks.

“Congratulations to our premier award winners,” said AIAA President Daniel Hastings. “In honoring these remarkable pioneers, we celebrate their transformative contributions that will echo through generations of aerospace innovation. Their groundbreaking work exemplifies the relentless pursuit of excellence that defines our community as they set new horizons for what humanity can achieve in the vast frontiers of air and space.”

“I'm simply in awe of this outstanding group of award winners. These are the aerospace professionals who push the boundaries of what’s possible. Supporting them throughout their career arc is at the heart of what we do at AIAA,” said AIAA CEO Clay Mowry. “The highest honors in aeronautics and astronautics – the AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award and AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award – are being given this year to brilliant individuals who in addition to advancing our understanding of flight in air and space, are lighting the way for the next generation. These leaders are making sure we stay at the forefront of innovation and maintain our national leadership in aerospace. They are truly shaping the future of aerospace.”

The winners are:

AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award
Jeffrey P. Bezos, Founder, Blue Origin

AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award
Vigor Yang, Ralph N. Read Chair and Regents Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

AIAA Distinguished Service Award
Basil Hassan, Director, Engineering Sciences Center, Sandia National Laboratories

AIAA Engineer of the Year Award
Christopher John Ruscher, Vice President and Senior Research Engineer, Spectral Energies, LLC

AIAA International Cooperation Award
Hitoshi Kuninaka, Director General, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and Vice President, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award
Gökçin Çınar, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan

AIAA Public Service Award
Bhavya Lal, former NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, NASA (retired)

Daniel Guggenheim Medal
Stephen W. Tsai, Research Professor, Emeritus, Stanford University

Award Citations
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.

Jeffrey P. Bezos, Founder, Blue Origin, honored “For visionary leadership in moving us toward a future where millions of people are living and working in space for the benefit of humanity.”

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 the Aeronautical Sciences in 1932.

Vigor Yang, Ralph N. Read Chair and Regents Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, honored “For seminal contributions to the understanding of combustion physics in aerospace systems, to technological innovation in aerospace propulsion, and to the advancement of aerospace engineering education and literature.”

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

Basil Hassan, Director, Engineering Sciences Center, Sandia National Laboratories honored “For more than three decades of exemplary service at the national, technical, and regional levels, as well as with Publications, Honors and Awards, and the AIAA Foundation.”

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.

Christopher John Ruscher, Vice President and Senior Research Engineer, Spectral Energies, LLC, honored “For the design, development, integration, and demonstration of a robust pressure sensor on a hypersonic sounding rocket and F404 engine test.”

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.

Hitoshi Kuninaka, Director General, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and Vice President, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), honored “For fundamental contributions to electric propulsion and leadership of the world's first asteroid sample return missions, as well as for fostering international cooperation and public interest in space exploration.”

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.

Gökçin Çınar, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, honored “For pioneering research and innovative contributions to electrified aircraft systems and sustainable aviation.”

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

Bhavya Lal, former NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy, NASA Headquarters (retired), honored “For lasting and sustained leadership in national space policy and setting the course for NASA’s future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.”

Daniel Guggenheim Medal
The Medal was established as an international award honoring an individual who makes notable achievements in advancing the safety and practicality of aviation. Jointly sponsored by AIAA, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), SAE International, and Vertical Flight Society (VFS), the Medal recognizes contributions to aeronautical research and education, the development of commercial aircraft and equipment, and the application of aircraft to the economic and social activities of the nation.

Stephen W. Tsai, Research Professor, Emeritus, Stanford University, honored “For foundational contributions to the mechanics of composites over a distinguished 60-year career, resulting in laminate theory and failure criteria that are the basis of modern aerospace composite structures.”

Contact: Rebecca Gray, RebeccaG@AIAA.org, 804-397-5270

About AIAA 
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.