Norman R Augustine Named Drexels 2011 Engineering Leader of the Year

Drexel University’s College of Engineering has announced Norman R. Augustine, retired president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation and author of Augustine’s Laws and Augustine’s Travels, as Drexel’s 2011 Engineering Leader of the Year. Augustine will receive the award at a ceremony during Drexel’s National Engineers Week celebration on Feb. 25.

“We are excited to present Mr. Augustine with the Engineer of the Year award,” said Dr. Bruce Eisenstein, interim dean of Drexel’s College of Engineering. “His corporate leadership and impact on technology and engineering are an inspiration to our future engineers.”

Augustine joined the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1958 and then served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as an assistant director of Defense Research and Engineering. In 1970, he joined the LTV Missiles and Space Company. Three years later, he returned to government as assistant secretary and then under-secretary of the Army. He joined Martin Marietta, the predecessor of Lockheed Martin, in 1977. Augustine became its chairman and CEO in 1988 and 1987, respectively, and then served as president of the Lockheed Martin Corporation upon its formation. He was subsequently CEO and chairman before his retirement in August 1997, after which he spent two years on the faculty of the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Augustine was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1997 for his role in the development of technologies such as space vehicles, “smart” weapons, information systems and advanced aircraft systems. In January 2006, the National Academy of Sciences awarded him the prestigious Public Welfare Medal. The Defense Department has bestowed on him its highest civilian decoration, the Distinguished Service Medal, five times. He has received meritorious service awards from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army, Air Force, NASA, Treasury Department and Central Intelligence Agency.

Augustine is a regent of the University System of Maryland, trustee emeritus of Johns Hopkins and a former member of the board of trustees of Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the advisory board to the Department of Homeland Security. Augustine served for 16 years on the President’s council of advisors on science and technology. He has also served as chairman and principal officer of the American Red Cross, president and chairman of the Association of the United States Army, chairman of the council for the National Academy of Engineering, the Aerospace Industries Association and the Defense Science Board. He is a former president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Boy Scouts of America.

Augustine graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering. He holds 24 honorary degrees including a degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa, from Drexel (2006). He has traveled in over 100 countries and stood on both the North and South Poles.

Past Drexel Engineering Leader of the Year recipients include 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).

For more information about Drexel’s 2011 Engineers Week, visit www.drexel.edu/coe/news/engineers_week/.

Photo caption: Retired president and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation Norman Augustine named Drexel's 2011 Engineering Leader of the Year.

News media contacts:
Niki Gianakaris, director, Drexel News Bureau
215-895-6741, 215-778-7752 (cell), ngianakaris@drexel.edu

Elizabeth Brachelli, public relations manager, Drexel College of Engineering
215-895-6454, 267-357-2527 (cell) elizabeth.brachelli@drexel.edu