NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION, POINT MUGU, Calif. — Three percent: that’s how many Naval Air Systems Command engineers have a shot at entering the NAVAIR Research and Engineering Fellows program.

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at Point Mugu honored two engineers with induction into the program as Associate Fellows during a ceremony Aug. 27: Kristen Hawkes, foreign military sales electronic warfare team lead with the Support Equipment and ALRE team, and Piotr Adamski, Radio Frequency (RF) systems engineer with the Avionics, Mission Systems and Electronic Warfare department.

Dr. Ron Smiley, Director, Avionics, Sensors and E*Warfare Department, and Capt. Karl Andina, NAWCWD vice commander, presented Hawkes and Adamski with plaques commemorating their induction into the program.

“It’s great to get to recognize some of our very best,” Smiley said. “They have a track record of success that continues to serve the warfare center and the Navy.”

“This is not a longevity award,” added Andina. “This award recognizes those who are hands-on every day, identifying problems and solutions, then implementing them and passing on their knowledge to others.”

Established in 2000 to honor key individuals who consistently demonstrate high engineering and scientific talents, the NAVAIR Fellows program recognizes those individuals who continuously make major contributions that advance their technical fields. Candidates are peer reviewed for program eligibility, and once inducted, serve to review further program participants.

The NAVAIR Fellows program is arranged in three levels: Associate Fellow, NAVAIR Fellow and Esteemed Fellow. Each higher tier pulls candidates from the tier below it and is decided by majority vote. Associate Fellows representing the top 3 percent of NAVAIR scientists and engineers. NAVAIR Fellows, in turn, represent the top three-quarters of a percent. An Esteemed Fellow is in the top one-quarter of a percent.

Dan Radke, one of just 10 esteemed fellows and the first to be selected from NAWCWD Point Mugu, noted the being a fellow does have an added burden,  but one he says is well worth bearing.

“You become a mentor,” he said. “It’s an honor and privilege.”