By Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Ten NAVAIR scientists and engineers were inducted August 30 as Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Research and Engineering Esteemed Fellows, and nine others were also installed as Fellows in the NAVAIR Fellows program.

Vice Admiral Wally Massenburg, NAVAIR Commander, addressed the new Fellows and Esteemed Fellows through a video-televised ceremony linking Patuxent River, Md. with NAVAIR China Lake, Calif.

“The commitment these individuals have demonstrated over many years of service to Naval Aviation has ensured that our Navy and Marine Corps Warfighters are the best prepared and best equipped in the world, in support of our nation’s security,” said Massenburg.

Instituted in 2000, the NAVAIR Research and Engineering Fellows Program is a peer-oriented technical recognition program for the command’s most experienced and talented scientists and engineers who have made major contributions to naval aviation.

The new Esteemed Fellows are: Vinod S. Agarwala, Research and Engineering Sciences Department (AIR-4.9); George E. Bray III, Support Equipment and Aircraft Launch and Recovery Equipment Department (AIR-4.8); Christopher M. Clark, Integrated Systems Evaluation Experimentation, and Test Department (AIR-4.1); Shawn T. Donley, Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Department (AIR-4.3); Dennis N. Gordge, Human Systems Department (AIR-4.6); Daniel C. Harris, Research and Engineering Sciences Department (AIR-4.9); John J. McCue, Integrated Systems Evaluation Experimentation and Test Department (AIR-5.1); Edwin L. Rosenzweig, Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Department (AIR-4.3); Barry S. Shender, Human Systems Department (AIR-4.6); and Harvey L. Sokoloff, Avionics Department (AIR-4.5).

The new Fellows inducted are: Robert W. Gedridge, Jr., Office of Technology and Intelligence (AIR-4.0X); George N. Hennings, Weapons and Energetics Department (AIR-4.7); Richard A. Hollins, Research and Engineering Sciences Department (AIR-4.9); William B. Leach, Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Department (AIR-4.3); Eun U. Lee, Research and Engineering Sciences Department (AIR-4.9); Alfred G. Piranian, Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Department (AIR-4.3); Rex N. Randolph, Warfare Analysis Department (AIR-4.10); Michael R. Schultz, Human Systems Department (AIR-4.6); and G. Terry Thomas, Systems Engineering Department (AIR-4.1).

The ceremony holds historical significance for the program because it marks the first time since the inception of the program that a group of peer-selected Esteemed Fellows was inducted.
The program was established in 2000 to honor key individuals within NAVAIR's engineering and scientific community who consistently demonstrate high engineering and scientific talents and are recognized as leading experts in their discipline. These individuals continuously make major contributions, exercise considerable originality and innovation, and advance their technical fields.
Members of the Fellows program will provide advice and counsel to the NAVAIR assistant commander for Research and Engineering (AIR-4.0), and serve as advisers and mentors to the engineers and scientists in the naval aviation community.
Esteemed Fellows receive the highest technical honor NAVAIR can bestow. Fellows are those recognized at the national group level, and Associate Fellows are NAVAIR senior engineers/NAVAIR senior scientists who are identified and selected through his/her national department.
“You, the acknowledged leaders in your respective fields, serve in a special way as the technical conscience of naval air power,” said Massenburg. “You represent this organization’s ongoing commitment to a culture of technical excellence – one which is focused on world-class research and engineering, full-life-cycle support, and cost-wise management in support of the greater good of naval aviation.”

According to Karen Jensen, NAVAIR Research and Engineering Fellows Program Coordinator, only the top 0.25 percent of the NAVAIR science and engineering workforce earns the Esteemed Fellow designation, which equates to about 16 out of 6,500 scientists and engineers NAVAIR-wide.

The Fellows program is administered by the Fellows Administration Board. This board oversees all aspects of the program's administration of the call for nominations, selection process, and individual awards and recognition.

For more information about the NAVAIR Research and Engineering Fellows Program, contact Jensen at [email protected] or visit https://ntrx.navair.navy.mil/fellows.

Photo Caption 1: The group of West Coast inductee Esteemed Fellows and Fellows at NAVAIR China Lake, Calif. From left to right:Esteemed Fellow Dr. Robert Smith, Esteemed Fellow Daniel Harris, Fellow Rex Randolph, Fellow George Hennings, Fellow Richard Hollins, NAWCWD Vice Commander CAPT Mark Storch.

Photo Caption 2: The group of East Coast inductee Esteemed Fellows and Fellows with colleagues at Naval Air Systems Command Headquarters in Patuxent River, Md. From left to right: VADM Massenburg, William Leach, Michael Schultz, Robert Gedridge, Alfred Piranian, Edwin Rosenzweig, Terry Thomas, Eun Lee, Shawn Donley, Vinod Agarwala, Harvey Sokoloff, Christopher Clark, John McCue, Dennis Gordge, Barry Shender, George Bray, CAPT Eastburg.