The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) presented its 2010 International von Karman Wings Award to Joanne Maguire, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, for her visionary accomplishments in aerospace.
The von Karman Wings Award acknowledges outstanding contributions by international innovators, leaders, and pioneers in aerospace and is presented by the Aerospace Historical Society, which is part of the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories at Caltech (GALCIT). For the past 26 years, the society has been dedicated to the preservation of the history and achievements of aerospace.Maguire is the first female to receive this honor and Lockheed Martin's second senior executive to receive the von Karman Wings Award, along with Daniel M. Tellep, the Corporation's first chairman and chief executive officer who was the recipient in 1997.
"Joanne's colleagues at Lockheed Martin are proud of her selection as the first woman recognized by the Aerospace Historical Society with this prestigious award," said Lockheed Martin's President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher E. Kubasik. "She's a great leader in our company, an effective advocate for our industry, and an exemplary role model for those who choose careers in aerospace."
"GALCIT is proud and privileged to be the home of the Aerospace Historical Society," G. Ravi Ravichandran, Chair of the Aerosoace Historical Society, Director of GALCIT said. "It is an honor to give this award, named after the founding director of GALCIT and the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to Joanne Maguire."
Maguire has been recognized by Fortune magazine multiple times as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Industry" and in 2008 as one of the "Top 50 Women in Technology" by Corporate Board Member magazine. She was also honored in 2008 by Girls Inc. for her achievements as a "leader and role model for young women." Additionally, Maguire is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.
Under Maguire's leadership, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company provides advanced-technology systems for national security, civil, and commercial markets, including projects on human space flight systems, communication satellites, strategic and missile defense systems, and interplanetary spacecraft. The company employs approximately 17,000 people and generated more than $8.6 billion in sales for Lockheed Martin in 2009.