Mr. Peter Wilhelm, Director of
the Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST) at the Naval Research
Laboratory (NRL), was presented with the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics' (AIAA) 1999 Goddard Astronautics
Award. This award is the oldest AIAA tribute for notable achievement
in the field of astronautics and is named in the honor of Mr.
Robert H. Goddard, "a rocket pioneer whose early liquid
rocket engine launches opened up the world of astronautics."
The award was presented to Mr. Wilhelm at an AIAA ceremony on
May 5, 1999.
Mr. Wilhelm was cited for
"extraordinary
engineering, astute leadership, and zealous dedication to excellence
in responding to the needs and advancing the technology of the
United States Space Program."
Mr. Wilhelm, who has directed
the NCST since its inception in 1986, has been with NRL since
1959. Under his direction, NCST and the Navy have achieved numerous
successes and "firsts" in space including the first
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite and the highly successful
Clementine Deep Space Mission, which demonstrated the capability
of, and has become the model for, low-cost, high-value space
exploration. Mr. Wilhelm's achievements include contributions
to the design, development and operation of 87 scientific and
fleet-support satellites.
Mr. Wilhelm began his career
in 1957 as an electrical engineer with Stewart Warner Electronics
where he was assigned to a project to redesign the UPM-70, a
Navy radar test set. In March 1959, he joined NRL as an electronics
engineer in the Electronics Division. In December 1959, he joined
the Satellite Techniques Branch; in 1961, he became head of the
Satellite Instrument Section; in 1965, he became head of the
Satellite Techniques Branch; and in 1974, he was designated head
of the Spacecraft Technology Center. In these positions, he has
performed satellite system design, equipment development, environmental
testing, launch operations, and orbital data handling. In 1981,
Mr. Wilhelm was named the superintendent of the Space Systems
and Technology Division. In October 1986, he was appointed director
of the newly-established NCST, the Navy's lead laboratory for
space.
Mr. Wilhelm has been recognized
with numerous awards including the Navy's Meritorious Senior
Executive Award; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers' Aerospace and Electronic Systems Group's Man of the
Year Award; NRL's E. O. Hulburt Annual Science and Engineering
Award; the Robert Dexter Conrad Award; the Rotary National Stellar
Award; the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award; the Presidential
Rank, Meritorious Executive Award; and the Roger L. Easton Award
for Engineering Excellence. Recently, he received the Department
of Defense's Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He is a member
of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the Washington
Academy of Sciences and of the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics.
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