Dr. John Klineberg accepts the Collier Trophy for NASA

Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator of NASA, speaks at the Annual Collier Dinner on Thursday, May 13, 2010 in Arlington, VA. NASA and the International Space Station team is the winner of the 2009 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The Collier Trophy is awarded annually for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Lori Garver, left, Deputy Administrator of NASA, speaks at the Annual Collier Dinner on Thursday, May 13, 2010 in Arlington, VA. NASA and the International Space Station team is the winner of the 2009 Robert J. Collier Trophy. The Collier Trophy is awarded annually for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Congratulations to Ames Collier Trophy Winners

Members of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team stand next to the Collier Trophy during the Robert J. Collier Dinner in Washington on June 9, 2022. The team was awarded the 2021 Collier Trophy "for the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, thereby opening the skies of Mars and other worlds for future scientific discovery and exploration," the award citation states. From left to right: Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Bob Balaram, Ingenuity emeritus chief engineer at JPL; MiMi Aung, former Ingenuity project manager at JPL; Bobby Braun, former director for Planetary Science at JPL; Larry James, deputy director at JPL; Håvard Grip, Ingenuity chief pilot at JPL. This historic trophy – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington – is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25323

Members of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team are pictured with the Collier Trophy during the Robert J. Collier Dinner in Washington on June 9, 2022. The team was awarded the 2021 Collier Trophy "for the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, thereby opening the skies of Mars and other worlds for future scientific discovery and exploration," the award citation states. This historic trophy – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington – is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25324

NASA and the International Space Station (ISS) team is selected as the recipient of the 2009 Robert J. Collier Trophy on Thursday, May 13, 2010, in Arlington, VA. Lori Garver, fourth from left, Deputy Administrator of NASA accepts the Collier Trophy on behalf of NASA. The ISS Team nomination consisted NASA, The Boeing Company, Draper Laboratory, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin Corporation, United Space Alliance, and United Technologies/Hamilton Sunstrand. Seen from left are: Virginia Barnes, President and CEO, United Space Alliance; Alain Bellemare, President, United Technologies/Hamilton Sunstrand; James Crocker, VP and GM, Sensing & Exploration, Lockheed Martin; Lori Garver; Wayne Boyne, Chairman, National Aeronautic Association; Jonathan Gaffney, President, National Aeronautic Association; Jim Albaugh, Executive VP of The Boeing Company, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Dennis Muilenberg, Executive Vice President, The Boeing Company, President and CEO, Boeing Defense, Space and Security; James Shields, President and CEO, Draper Laboratory and Dave Douglas, Vice President, Space, Missiles and Munitions, Honeywell. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Lewis Rodert, then of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, receives the Collier Trophy from President Harry Truman for his work in the design and development of an ice prevention system for aircraft. The accumulation of ice on an aircraft had been a critical issue for years. Rodert developed a method of transferring engine heat to the wings and other vulnerable components to prevent ice buildup. Rodert began his icing investigations at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in 1936. The NACA ordered a Lockheed 12A aircraft to be built using Rodert’s deicing system. The aircraft successfully flew through icing conditions during the following winter. Soon thereafter the military incorporated the system into a Consolidated B-24D Liberator and several other military aircraft, including a North American XB-25F. Rodert and the NACA icing program transferred to the Lewis lab in Cleveland in 1946. In Cleveland, the focus turned to the study of cloud composition and the causes of icing. Rodert’s role at Lewis diminished over the ensuing years. Rodert was honored in 1947 for his Collier Trophy at ceremonies at Langley, Ames, and then finally Lewis.

COLLIER TROPHY COMPOSITE

JSC2011-E-075769 (4 June 1974) --- Vice President Gerald R. Ford presented the Collier Trophy Award for 1973 to Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider on June 4, 1974 in Washington. (original HQ number is 74H423) Photo credit: NASA

The chief pilot for NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, Håvard Grip, speaks at the Robert J. Collier Dinner in Washington on June 9, 2022. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team was awarded the 2021 Collier Trophy "for the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, thereby opening the skies of Mars and other worlds for future scientific discovery and exploration," the award citation states. This historic trophy – which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington – is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year." https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25216

Joseph A. Walker was a Chief Research Pilot at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center during the mid-1960s. He joined the NACA in March 1945, and served as project pilot at the Edwards flight research facility on such pioneering research projects as the D-558-1, D-558-2, X-1, X-3, X-4, X-5, and the X-15. He also flew programs involving the F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, and the B-47. Walker made the first NASA X-15 flight on March 25, 1960. He flew the research aircraft 24 times and achieved its fastest speed and highest altitude. He attained a speed of 4,104 mph (Mach 5.92) during a flight on June 27, 1962, and reached an altitude of 354,300 feet on August 22, 1963 (his last X-15 flight). He was the first man to pilot the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) that was used to develop piloting and operational techniques for lunar landings. Walker was born February 20, 1921, in Washington, Pa. He lived there until graduating from Washington and Jefferson College in 1942, with a B.A. degree in Physics. During World War II he flew P-38 fighters for the Air Force, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Seven Oak Clusters. Walker was the recipient of many awards during his 21 years as a research pilot. These include the 1961 Robert J. Collier Trophy, 1961 Harmon International Trophy for Aviators, the 1961 Kincheloe Award and 1961 Octave Chanute Award. He received an honorary Doctor of Aeronautical Sciences degree from his alma mater in June of 1962. Walker was named Pilot of the Year in 1963 by the National Pilots Association. He was a charter member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and one of the first to be designated a Fellow. He was fatally injured on June 8, 1966, in a mid-air collision between an F-104 he was piloting and the XB-70.