Mark Miller awarded 2024 Reed Aeronautics Award
HUNTSVILLE, AL (June 19, 2024) – Leidos Senior Vice President for Missile and Aviation Systems, Mark Miller, was honored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in May at their annual awards gala held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Miller was the recipient of the 2024 Reed Aeronautics Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization in the field of aeronautics.
The award citation stated, “In recognition of contributions to engineering advancement of grid fin aerodynamic control technology from seminal research through pervasive technology adoption into flight systems including reusable launch vehicles.”
“Mark’s contribution to our aeronautics work and our country’s aeronautics prowess cannot be overstated,” said Cindy Gruensfelder, Leidos Defense Systems President. “We are proud he has been honored by AIAA for his achievements. It is truly a capstone for his storied career.”
Miller’s work on grid fin technology dates back to the late 1980’s, when as a recent college graduate, he was first exposed to a foreign missile that incorporated an unusual aerodynamic control device now recognized as a grid fin. Intrigued by its unique design features and aerodynamic characteristics, he conducted basic and applied research over several years, which culminated in a number of successful flight demonstrations. In 1993, he authored the seminal paper on the technology entitled “Grid Fins – A New Concept for Missile Stability and Control.”
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Miller’s career pivoted from focusing primarily on research and development activities to providing technical and programmatic leadership for the rapid development of capabilities for the Department of Defense as well as growing the aerospace organization that he continues to lead today.
“I am humbled to receive this award and am indebted to my colleagues at Leidos Dynetics who consistently supported and collaborated with me in my engineering endeavors for over three decades,” Miller said. “A close friend and mentor told me many years ago, 'Surround yourself with smart people, and others might mistake you as one of them' -- those words of wisdom ring ever true today. I am also grateful for the professors at Auburn who inspired me as a student as well as a number of customers who entrusted me to explore and implement unconventional approaches to solve some rather challenging problems in the field of aeronautics.”
The Reed Aeronautics Award established in 1934 is named after Dr. Sylvanus A. Reed, aeronautical engineer, designer and founding member of the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences. Reed was the first to develop a propeller system composed of metal rather than wood. His aluminum alloy propeller significantly increased overall aircraft performance and gave Jimmy Doolittle’s plane the speed it needed to win the 1925 Schneider Cup. Other notable recipients of the Reed Award have included Kelly Johnson, founder of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites, as well as a number of other historic leaders in the field of aeronautics including Charles Draper, Hugh Dryden and Igor Sikorsky.
About Leidos
Leidos is a Fortune 500® innovation company rapidly addressing the world’s most vexing challenges in national security and health. The company's global workforce of 47,000 collaborates to create smarter technology solutions for customers in heavily regulated industries. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $15.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2023. For more information, visit www.leidos.com.
