NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Fellows organization promoted 14 members to the rank of full fellow and one member to esteemed fellow status during a ceremony here last week.

“These engineers and scientists have an unwavering commitment to civil service and support to sailors and marines around the world,” said NAVAIR Deputy Commander, Garry Newton.

The NAVAIR fellows program includes three tiers: associate fellow, NAVAIR fellow and esteemed fellow. Only three percent of NAVAIR’s scientists and engineers are in the program, and less than one percent of the field is in the NAVAIR fellow and esteemed fellow ranks.

Fellows program founder, former Naval Air Warfare Center Aviation Division (NAWCAD) commander (and later NAVAIR commander) Rear Adm. Joe Dyer made a surprise appearance to honor the inductees and present the esteemed fellow honor to James “Buddy” Denham, who developed the Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies (MAGIC CARPET).

Denham “created an easy button for carrier landings,” said Newton. MAGIC CARPET reduces the number of corrections to a pilot’s flight path when landing on a carrier from 300 to 10-20. Making carrier landings easier saves training time, reduces strain on aircraft and makes landing safer. “It’s a readiness game changer,” Newton said.

“The outcomes of future battles are being decided by NAVAIR today,” Dyer said. In addition to technical expertise and national and international recognition as leaders in their fields, fellows are also mentors to NAVAIR’s future generation of engineers and scientists.

Both Newton and Dyer mentioned their mentorship experiences with Tom Lawrence, one of four esteemed fellows selected in 2000 during the program’s first year. Mentoring is “the genesis of the fellows program,” Dyer said.

Newton challenged fellows to “Mentor others to develop and grow the next generation of technical experts. Encourage them to think differently, to create and to innovate,” he said.

Joan Johnson, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) executive director said, "We’ve done a great job hiring talented scientists and engineers and you will be called upon to lead them as well. I know you do and will continue to do a great job for our next generation.” Read more about NAWCWD's winners here.

In a challenge to the newly promoted fellows, Dr. James Sheehy, Naval Aviation Enterprise Chief Technology Officer and another one of the program’s original founders said, “The United States’ technical advantage is getting smaller and you collectively are here to ensure we don’t lose it.”

During the ceremony on August 25, NAWCAD awarded five patents and acknowledged 23 inventions for record and disclosure, one of which was a result of NAVAIR’s first ever Innovation Challenge.

In addition, NAWCAD announced its 2016 Section 219 Outstanding Project Awards. These awards recognize projects funded by Section 219 funds for innovative technologies that exhibit outstanding achievement within the fields of basic and applied research, technology transition and workforce development. There were 570 eligible projects, 12 finalists and three award winners.

Rear Adm. Shane Gahagan, NAWCAD commander, who presented the patent and 219 awards said, “You are inventors and innovators. Each is unique, but what you have in common is that you strive to make our warfighters’ jobs easier.”

In closing, Dr. Sheehy reiterated the significance of all of the awards. “These honors will be a lasting memory,” he said.

2016 NAVAIR Fellows

Mr. David Kayser

Systems Engineering Department

Patuxent River, MD

Dr. El Sayed Arafat

Air Vehicle Engineering Department

Patuxent River, MD

Mr. John Benfer

Air Vehicle Engineering Department

Jacksonville, FL

Mr. Paul Kulowitch

Air Vehicle Engineering Department

Patuxent River, MD

Mr. Clyde Simmerman

Air Vehicle Engineering Department

Patuxent River, MD

Mr. Ravi Ravindranath

Propulsion and Power Engineering Department

Patuxent River, MD

Mr. Bradley Coler

Avionics, Sensors, and E3 Warfare Department

Point Mugu, CA

Dr. Saad Tabet

Avionics, Sensors, and E3 Warfare Department

Patuxent River, MD

Dr. James Pharmer

Human Systems Department

TSD Orlando, FL

Mr. James Nelepovitz

Weapons and Energetics Department

China Lake, CA

Mr. Larry Venetsky

Support Equipment and ALRE Department

Lakehurst, NJ

Dr. Katia Estabridas

Research Office

China Lake, CA

Mr. Gregory Glen

Integrated Systems Evaluation, Experimentation and Test Department

China Lake, CA

Mr. Charles Trost

Integrated Systems Evaluation, Experimentation and Test Department

Patuxent River, MD

NAVAIR Esteemed Fellow

Mr. James “Buddy” Denham

Air Vehicle Engineering Department

Patuxent River, MD

2016 Patent Awards

Retention Harness

Patent #8,973,945 Inventor(s): Peter Seidenberger, Bill Reason, Zachariah Thull & Patrick Dillon

Fueldraulic Actuator Installation and Removal Tool

Patent #9,108,310 Inventor(s): Zachariah Thull

Laser Based Lens Analysis Device and Method

Patent # 9,121,789 Inventor(s): Christine Stanley & Adam Carlisle

Reusable Energy Absorbing Lab (REAL) Seat

Patent # 9,146,173 Inventor(s): Michael Knott, Brandon Hall & Zachary Cass

Distributive Transmissometer

Patent # 9,164,035 Inventor(s): John Sugrim, Rollie DeWayne Berry & Gerald Ferguson

2016 Section 219 Outstanding Project Awards

Automatic Test Sequence Generator

Category: Basic and Applied Research

Recipient(s): Larry Venetsky, Dr. Russell Shannon, Dan Collins, George Lehaf

Transition of Environmentally Friendly Cleaner for Hydraulic Fluid Removal from Composite Structures

Category: Technology Transition

Recipient(s): Dr. El Sayed Arafat, Dane Hanson

Deploying 3D Game Engine Training Content on a Web Based Learning Management System

Category: Workforce Development

Recipient(s): Courtney McNamara, Kendra Woodruff, Christopher Freet