James F. Albaugh, the president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and executive vice president of The Boeing Company, received the 2012 Engineering Leader of the Year Award from Drexel University’s College of Engineering at a luncheon ceremony on Wednesday, June 27.
The event, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia, included remarks from President John A. Fry, Dean Joseph Hughes, Honorary Chair Joel Cohen ’54, Chairman of the Drexel University Board of Trustees Richard A. Greenawalt and Master of Ceremonies Captain Chris Ferguson, who served as the Commander of the final space shuttle Atlantis on NASA mission STS-135. Guests included representatives from The Boeing Company and prominent members of the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) community, as well as Drexel Trustees, faculty and professional staff.
Albaugh said his selection as Drexel University's Engineering Leader of the Year is a tribute to the Boeing team that worked so hard to push the boundaries of flight.
"I'm honored by this recognition," Albaugh said. "There is no greater profession in the world than engineering and I feel privileged to be part of it. I hope this award inspires a new generation of engineers to aim high and dream big."
Albaugh joins the ranks of past Drexel Engineering Leader of the Year recipients that include Norman R. Augustine, retired president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation; Dr. Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of MIT; Drexel alumnus Christopher Ferguson (’84), commander of NASA’s STS-126 Endeavour, STS-115 Atlantis; Dr. Bernard Amadei, founding president of Engineers Without Borders-USA and co-founder of Engineers Without Borders-International; and Dean Kamen, president of DEKA Research and Development Corp. and founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).
Photo from left to right: President John Fry, Engineering Leader of the Year James Albaugh and Dean of the College of Engineering Joseph Hughes.