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SwRI named to inaugural class of S.A. Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame

For immediate release

San Antonio — Feb. 3, 2016 —Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is among eight organizations and individuals to be inducted into the inaugural class of the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame at a dinner and reception March 31, 2016.

The Dee Howard Foundation and the Partnership for Corporate Aviation Training have joined with local, state, and national partners to establish the Hall of Fame to honor San Antonio’s aviation and aerospace history and to nurture future generations of aviation and aerospace innovators.

From designing fuels for piston and jet airplane engines to developing systems and components that travel to Pluto and beyond, engineers and scientists at SwRI have been an integral part of the San Antonio aviation and aerospace landscape since it was founded in 1947.

“We are honored to be included in this inaugural group whose contributions to aviation and aerospace have had a significant positive impact on San Antonio and the world,” said SwRI President Adam L. Hamilton, P.E. “Our scientists and engineers are among the best in their fields — anywhere. As I like to say, we solve our clients’ toughest challenges — from deep sea to deep space and everything in between.”

SwRI has contributed numerous aviation and aerospace innovations that make flying safer, increase the lifespan of aircraft, help determine the cause of accidents, and ultimately contribute to a better understanding of Earth and its place in the solar system.

The Institute provides engineering expertise in aircraft design, analysis, and testing, develops and designs fuels and lubricants effective in extreme environmental conditions, and designs and implements fuel filtration systems.

For more than three decades, the Institute has been a leader in space science, developing spacecraft avionics and instrumentation for NASA, ESA, and other government and industry clients. Institute-designed and -built components have flown in Earth orbit and on missions to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, and comets, furthering our understanding of the solar system.

Most recently, Institute engineers are addressing challenges associated with fire detection, mitigation, and suppression in micro-gravity environments, developing the technology needed to study fires in space to prevent a potentially disastrous spaceflight event.

During its 69-year history, Southwest Research Institute has been recognized for its many aviation and aerospace technologies and was inducted into the U.S. Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1998.

In addition to SwRI, the 2016 San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame inductees include: Maj. Gen. Benjamin Foulois; Eddie, Katherine and Marjorie Stinson; Durrell U. “Dee” Howard; Edward “Ed” James Swearingen; Joseph A. Wilson; Richard H. Fessler; and the Air Education and Training Command. Edward M. Bolen, president and chief executive officer of the National Business Aviation Association, is scheduled to be the keynote speaker. The induction ceremony, dinner, and an aviation and aerospace exhibit will be held March 31, 2016, in Valero Energy Corp’s hangar at the San Antonio International Airport.

As part of the exhibit, SwRI will display a model of the eight microsatellites it is building for NASA. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) will help scientists better forecast and track tropical cyclones by measuring ocean surface properties, moist atmospheric thermodynamics, radiation, and convective dynamics.

For more information about the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame or tickets to the induction ceremony and dinner, visit: www.deehoward.org/saaaof-2015-dinner.

For more information, contact Deb Schmid, +1 210 522 2254, Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238-5166.