Gen. J.R. "Jack" Dailey Receives AIAA National Capital Section Barry M. Goldwater Educator Award

Washington D.C. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) National Capital Section is proud to announce the 2011 Goldwater Award to General J. R. "Jack" Dailey, Director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Dailey was honored “for outstanding leadership in enhancing the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, and educating millions of visitors about aviation, aerospace, and associated human achievement.”

“This is our most prestigious award for Education. We are honored to have General Dailey recognized for his achievements and that of the National Air and Space Museum, which plays such an important role in bringing our nation’s youth into the Aerospace profession,” said Rick Ohlemacher, Chairman of the AIAA National Capital Section. “In receiving this award, General Dailey and the National Air and Space Museum join a lineage of awardees of national distinction, including Senator McCain, Senator Mikulski, former Secretary of both Transportation and Commerce The Honorable Norman Mineta, and former NASA Administrator Dr. Griffin.”

“On behalf of the staff of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, I am proud to accept the AIAA’s 2011 Goldwater Award for Education,” said Gen. Dailey. “The Museum has a dual commitment to history and science and our on-site and distance learning programs reach young people from pre-kindergarten to high school levels. It is especially important that American children, tomorrow’s leaders, are able to participate in planning for the future of our world.”

Presentation of this award, and the recognition of newly elected Fellows and Honorary Fellows of the AIAA, occurred on May 11 at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, in Washington, D.C. This annual black-tie event recognizes the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace, whose outstanding contributions merit the highest accolades.

For more information on the Aerospace Spotlight Award recipients, please contact Carol Stewart at 703.264.7623 or carols@aiaa.org.

AIAA is the world’s largest technical society dedicated to the global aerospace profession. With more than 35,000 individual members worldwide, and 90 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.