On April 25, we honored our 2024 award recipients and new AIAA Fellows and Associate Fellows. Attendees enjoyed dinner, drinks, and a fantastic keynote address by Dr. Alberto Conti on the James Webb Space Telescope. Congratulations to all the honorees!
Awardees
Young Professional Engineer of the Year: Matthew Scorza (United Launch Alliance)
Educator of the Year K-12: Nicholas Chambers (Poudre School District)
Educator of the Year College/University: Dr. Lynanne George (UCCS)
Young Professional Public Service Award: Brian Ysasaga (Lockheed Martin Space)
Professional Engineer of the Year: Nick Sheryka (Boom)
Brian Ysasaga, “I cannot be more excited to attend and receive this!” Brian Ysasaga is a driving force within the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the premier professional association for engineering. Recognizing the transformative power of mentorship from the outset of his university education and career, Brian has dedicated himself to uplifting and empowering aspiring engineers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds like his own as a first-generation college graduate. Through mentorship programs, Brian has served as an inspirational figure, offering guidance and encouragement while sharing invaluable insights into aerospace career pathways.
Nicholas Chambers - Nick's classroom is a hub of excitement and curiosity. He fosters a dynamic and authentic learning environment where students take their work seriously but never lose their sense of fun. Aviation has become more than a subject—it has become a passion. Nick's unwavering focus on student and aircraft safety sets an example for all educators. Whether in the classroom or on the tarmac, safety remains paramount. Nick also collaborates with local law enforcement and fire departments, providing students with real-world scenarios. These experiences prepare them for the challenges of aviation careers.
Nick's impact reaches far beyond the classroom. He nurtures dreams, cultivates curiosity, and propels students toward the skies. His legacy will forever soar alongside the drones he inspires his students to pilot. Under Nick's guidance, two students clinched Gold at SkillsUSA, showcasing their aviation skills and knowledge on the competitive stage.
Tom Greiner (Boom VP) showed their XB-1 video as our Engineer of the Year (Nick Sheryka) is the Chief Engineer for the Boom program. Nick Sheryka, “Wow, truly unexpected - what a great honor. Thank you all so much, and thank you, Tom, for the nomination!” On March 22, 2024 Nick made a significant contribution to the re-emergence of supersonic commercial flight by leading his teams with his calming voice of leadership in the control room to a successful and safe first flight of the supersonic technical demonstrator, XB-1. Nick’s own words contextualize his experience best over the last 7 years at Boom: “The most rewarding aspect of my role is seeing XB-1 grow out of nothing more than an idea into what’s almost a living, breathing thing. Testing XB-1’s systems, first individually and then together as an integrated vehicle, is like breathing life into an elegant, albeit very complex, machine. It’s my life’s passion.”
Dr. Lynnane George, “I have no idea how any of you had the time to put together this nomination and had no idea it was coming! Thank you so much!!!” Lynnane’s nominator, Kinzy Pearson, said, “I speak for us all when I say I truly cannot think of a more deserving candidate for this award! Dr. George, you are the backbone of our MAE and AIAA, and you are constantly opening doors for us students! This award is well deserved, and we hope that this can at least show a fraction of our gratitude to have you as our professor!”
Matthew Scorza, “Thank you so much! I’m honestly honored just to be considered.” During his eight years at United Launch Alliance (ULA), Matthew has developed into one of ULA’s strongest system integrators and technical leads. Matthew has the unique ability to see the big picture while maintaining technical authority over all aspects of a hardware/software system. However, Matthew’s most significant contributions to ULA and the Vulcan vehicle go beyond his technical accomplishments and support of the program. Matthew is an emotional leader and positive force within our engineering organization. He brings a team-first approach to his work and is a willing and able mentor who’s helping develop the next generation of engineers at ULA.
About Dr. Alberto Conti
Dr. Alberto Conti is vice president and general manager of the Civil Space strategic business unit within the Space Systems organization for BAE Systems, Inc. Space & Mission Systems sector. Conti is responsible for the portfolio of civil space systems that span across all science fields, operational weather, Earth observation, and advanced technologies development objectives.
Most recently, Conti was the director of new business and innovative solutions for Civil Space at Ball Aerospace, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ball Corporation that was acquired by BAE Systems, Inc. In this role, he was responsible for managing new business activities for NASA, NOAA, and other civilian U.S. government agencies, as well as for academia and other science organizations.
Previously, Conti served as the innovation manager for Civil Space at Northrop Grumman. He also served as the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) innovation scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is the current science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and the current science and mission operations center for Webb. He served as the Hubble Space Telescope chief engineer for data management, the development manager for the Community Missions Office, and the project manager for the data archive of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer space mission.
Alongside our AIAA-RM awardees, we are proud to honor the Rocky Mountain Section members who have been inducted as AIAA Fellows and Associate Fellows.
New AIAA RMS Fellows
John Grunsfeld, Endless Frontier Associates LLC
Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute
Read more about the AIAA Fellows here.
New AIAA RMS Associate Fellows
Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin Space
Ryan Kobrick, Blue Origin, LLC
Matthew Snyder, ARCTOS Technology Solutions
Kevin Weed, BAE Systems, Inc.
Douglas Wicker, U.S. Air Force
Shashank Yellapantula, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Read more about the AIAA Associate Fellows here.
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