Grand Laureates Announced at Aviation Week by Informa’s 68th Annual Laureate Awards

Award Honors Outstanding Achievements in Aviation, Aerospace & Defense

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- EMBARGOED UNTIL 9:30 p.m. 3.19.26

Aviation Week by Informa has announced the Grand Laureate winners for the 68th Annual Laureate Awards (#AWLAUR), honoring extraordinary achievements in the global aerospace arena. They were selected from a total of 25 winners of the 2026 Laureate Awards and were announced this evening at an awards gala at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, where all of the winners were honored. A Grand Laureate was named in each of the five award categories: Commercial Aviation, Defense, Space, Business Aviation, and MRO.

Aviation Week also bestowed the Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement to two individuals, and the Pathfinder Award to one individual. Four cadets and midshipmen from U.S. military academies were also recognized as Tomorrow’s Leaders, honoring young men and women who have chosen career paths in the armed forces.

In addition to the Laureate Awards, Aviation Week recognized the “20 Twenties” in partnership with Accenture. This program recognizes the accomplishments and drive of 20 science, technology, engineering and mathematics students in their 20s and currently enrolled in a master's degree or bachelor's degree program.

“From ghost spacecraft to paving the way for future hybrid-electric regional aircraft, the Grand Laureates have made significant contributions to the world,” said Joe Anselmo, Editorial Director for Aviation Week. “We were proud to honor all the 25 worthy winners tonight. Selecting the Grand Laureate from each category was no easy task.”

The Laureates Awards Executive Sponsor is PwC, and Sponsors are Boeing, Chromalloy, and Safran. Cessna Beechcraft by Textron Aviation serves as the Business Aviation Sponsor and L3Harris is the Defense Sponsor.

The Grand Laureate Winners are:

COMMERCIAL AVIATION
Safran ENGINeUS Electric Motor
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency granted its first type certificate for an electric propulsion unit to Safran Electrical & Power in February 2025 for the 125-kW ENGINeUS 100B1. The approval paves the way for more powerful motors on future hybrid-electric regional aircraft. Safran will also use derived technologies in CFM International’s RISE demonstration program for more efficient commercial engines.

DEFENSE
Boeing Defense, Space & Security CEO Steve Parker
As the new President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, Steve Parker led the business to what may be a generational win with the U.S. Air Force’s F-47 program, building on his prior leadership of the company's combat aircraft business. Parker has also been instrumental in beginning to turn around Boeing’s defense business after years of problems.

SPACE
Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost
Firefly was not the first private company to touch down on the Moon, but its Blue Ghost spacecraft was the first —and so far only — vehicle to not only stick the landing but also complete a full-duration 14-day mission on the lunar surface. NASA supported the flight as part of a program to spur commercial development of the Moon.

BUSINESS AVIATION
Gogo
Gogo has started shipping terminals for its new Galileo high-speed in-flight connectivity service, which uses Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation of low Earth orbit satellites. Following its acquisition of Satcom Direct in December 2024, Gogo says it is the only multi-orbit, multi-band global inflight connectivity provider serving the business aviation and military/government markets.

MRO
Choose Aerospace High School Program
Choose Aerospace has developed a curriculum and industry-recognized credential that enables high school students to gain a head start on pursuing FAA mechanic certification—a game changer for the industry’s maintenance workforce shortage. The nonprofit has reached close to 2,000 unique learners across more than 40 programs in the U.S. since its launch in 2020.

PHILIP J. KLASS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Bill Franke
Bill Franke has been one of the most influential leaders in commercial aviation over several decades. After having turned around America West Airlines in the 1990s as Chairman and CEO, Franke cofounded investment firm Indigo Partners in 2003 and created a global network of low-cost carriers including Frontier Airlines in the U.S., JetSMART Airlines in South America, Wizz Air in Europe and Volaris in Mexico. He also served as chairman on Spirit Airlines and Singapore-based Tiger Airlines. Before he became known as the pioneer of ultra-low-cost air travel, Franke was the go-to executive for troubled businesses, leading a bank and a convenience store chain out of bankruptcy. It was because of this reputation that Franke was called to rescue America West, bringing him into the airline industry. Franke’s thinking has influenced many others and made air travel accessible to many more people.

Jordi Puig-Suari and Bob Twiggs
Professors Bob Twiggs and Jordi Puig-Suari invented the cubesat standard not to upend an industry, but as a teaching tool for college students. Yet, since the first launch in 2003, more than 2,700 cubesats have made it to space, according to the Nanosats Database. And an entire sector has sprung up around the 10 cm3 form factor, with multibillion-dollar companies embracing the satellite type as well as space agencies such as NASA, which now use the small satellite for complex deep space missions. The standard was developed in 1999, when Puig-Suari was a professor at California Polytechnic State University and Twiggs at Stanford University. Today low Earth orbit cubesats are being used for an ever-widening number of applications, including Earth observation; weather sensing; alternative position, navigation and timing; communications; and technology demonstration missions, as well as free-flying biology and in-space manufacturing experiments.

PATHFINDER AWARD

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab
As a child of the 1970s, Peter Beck grew up dreaming of rockets, but feeling like the glory days of space exploration had passed him by. Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, now says he had that all wrong. “Who could imagine a kid growing up on a farm in New Zealand would one day own a rocket company?” he told Aviation Week a few years after Rocket Lab’s Electron small-satellite launch vehicle entered operational service.

Rocket Lab has now flown more than 72 Electron missions and added suborbital hypersonics testing to its portfolio. Beck led a team that built other product lines around the Electron’s kick-stage motor, which has become a commercial satellite bus and platform for providing science, communications and other services in deep space. The company has launched to the Moon, built spacecraft for Mars and will soon enter the medium-lift launch market with the reusable Neutron.

ABOUT AVIATION WEEK BY INFORMA
Aviation Week by Informa is the largest multimedia information and services provider for the global aviation, aerospace, and defense industries, serving 1.7 million professionals around the world. Industry professionals rely on Aviation Week to help them understand the market, make decisions, predict trends, and connect with people and business opportunities. Customers include the world's leading aerospace manufacturers and suppliers, airlines, airports, business aviation operators, militaries, governments and other organizations that serve this worldwide marketplace. Aviation Week’s portfolio delivers award-winning journalism, data, intelligence and analytical resources, world-class tradeshows and conferences, and results-driven marketing services and advertising. Our principle is helping our customers succeed.

Aviation Week is part of Informa Markets, a division of Informa PLC.

ABOUT INFORMA MARKETS
Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. Our portfolio is comprised of more than 550 international B2B events and brands in markets including Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure, Construction & Real Estate, Fashion & Apparel, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, and Health & Nutrition, among others. We provide customers and partners around the globe with opportunities to engage, experience and do business through face-to-face exhibitions, specialist digital content and actionable data solutions. As the world’s leading exhibitions organiser, we bring a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.

Elizabeth Kelley Grace
IThe Buzz Agency
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