EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- As part of its celebration of National Engineers Week, Feb 22-28, the San Fernando Valley (Calif.) Engineers' Council will honor 180 employees of Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) Integrated Systems sector for their contributions to engineering innovation.
The council has named Norm Sakamoto, leader of the Northrop Grumman team that designed the U.S. Air Force's RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system, Engineer of the Year. The award recognizes individuals for accomplishments not only in engineering but also in civic and other non-technical pursuits. Sakamoto is recognized worldwide as a leading authority on unmanned systems technology.
"This honor is a great way to cap off my 45-year career," said Sakamoto, who plans to retire this year. "It's really been a privilege to have been a part of the team that's developed some of the aerospace industry's most groundbreaking aircraft."
Roy Martin, one of the sector's chief test pilots, will receive the Distinguished Engineer Achievement Award. Last year, Martin flew a modified F-5E fighter jet in the first-ever demonstration of a method to reduce the jarring impact of sonic booms. Also in 2003, he was named a fellow by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for his contributions to flight test.
"I'm very fortunate to be associated with outstanding engineers at Northrop Grumman and to be recognized for doing what I love to do," said Martin, who has logged some 9,500 hours in more than 60 aircraft during his 30 years of flying.
Sakamoto and Martin will receive their awards at a banquet Feb. 28 in Studio City, Calif.
In addition to presenting the individual awards, the engineering council will also honor 10 Northrop Grumman teams comprising 178 employees for innovations on company projects conducted over the past year at facilities in El Segundo, Palmdale and San Diego.
The projects included a cryogenic fuel tank made from composite materials; an aerodynamic cooling approach for the F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft; software breakthroughs on the F-35 joint strike fighter and the B-2 stealth bomber; two separate demonstrations of Global Hawk sensor capabilities; testing of a smart-bomb rack assembly on the B-2; the first shipboard flight testing of the RQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopter; certification of a radar cross-section test range; and the sonic boom reduction flights.
"These employees represent the innovation and engineering trailblazing that has been the hallmark of Northrop Grumman for 65 years," said Gary W. Ervin, sector vice president for Integrated Systems' Air Combat Systems business area. "It's this type of engineering effort that helps keep America at the forefront of technological development."
The San Fernando Valley Engineers' Council was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of the California Society of Professional Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and other technical professional societies. Its activities support college scholarships, high school mentoring, and middle school math and science enrichment programs.
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems is a premier aerospace and defense systems integration enterprise. Headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., it designs, develops, produces and supports network-enabled integrated systems and subsystems for government and civil customers worldwide. Integrated Systems delivers best-value solutions, products and services that support military and homeland defense missions in the areas of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; space access; battle management command and control; and integrated strike warfare.
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