IMMEDIATE
November 16, 2006
L. Kim Smith
Dr. Kenneth M. Rosen is Awarded the 2007 AHS Alexander A. Nikolsky Honorary Lectureship
Alexandria, VA -- AHS Executive Director M. E. Rhett Flater announced today that Dr. Kenneth M. Rosen has been selected to receive the Alexander A. Nikolsky Honorary Lectureship. The Lecture will be delivered at the 63rd AHS Annual Forum and Technology Display at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, VA, May 1 – 3, 2007.
The Lectureship is awarded to “an individual who reflects the highest ideals, goals and achievements in the field of helicopter and V/STOL aircraft engineering and development.” In winning the award, Rosen joins the ranks of previous distinguished Nikolsky recipients including Troy Gaffey, Richard M. Carlson, Howard C. Curtiss, Jr., Daniel P. Schrage, David Jenney, Evan Fradenburgh, Kenneth I. Grina, Robert R. Lynn, Rene Mouille, Alfred Gessow, Bartram Kelley, Robert Huston, Bruno Lovera and Barnes McCormick, Jr.
Dr. Rosen was nominated based on his long and distinguished career which has exemplified the highest ideals, goals and achievements in the field of helicopter and V/STOL aircraft engineering and development. Retired from Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. in 2000 as Vice President of Development Engineering and Advanced Programs, Dr. Rosen leaves behind a legacy of helicopter products that have served both US and international governments and commercial entities for more than 30 years. This legacy also contains the seeds of advanced technologies and products that will take both Sikorsky Aircraft and the rotorcraft industry into the 21st century.
Dr. Rosen joined United Technologies Corp. in 1962, and after a brief stay at Pratt & Whitney, began his career with Sikorsky in 1965. During his initial 10 years with the company, he worked his way to the leadership of the Propulsion group and spearheaded ground-breaking advances in icing technology – both in the physical analysis and in the development of de-icing system designs. In the late 1970s he became the Engineering Manager, and later the Maturity Phase Program Manage for the BLACK HAWK program. These efforts set the stage for the evolution of the BLACK HAWK into the primary workhorse for the U.S. Army with its derivatives serving the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. Rosen progressed from Manager – Air Vehicle Design and Development to Director – Advanced VSTOL Programs to Director – Program Engineering and ultimately to Vice President – Development Engineering and Advanced Programs. During his tenure he led efforts to develop the X-wing circulation-control rotor, the CYPHER ducted-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the Growth Rotor Blade now on the S-92 and the UH-60M. He played key roles in the development and deployment of active control technologies on the S-92 and he worked on the Variable-Diameter Tilt Rotor (VDTR). He played a pivotal role in defining the RAH-66 Comanche configuration with demonstrations of FANTAIL technology on the S-76/FANTAIL demonstrator aircraft prior to the contract award.
He has been honored by both UTC, including the Horner Citation, and by an array of international organizations including the AHS Dr. Alexander Klemin Award and as a Fellow of the AHS, Royal Aeronautical Society and the Society of Automotive Engineers. Dr. Rosen was honored with Vice President Gore’s Hammer Award for his role in the successful development of the National Rotorcraft Technology Center. He has served as Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of the AHS; Chairman of the Rotorcraft Industry Technology Association; Chairman of the NASA ASTTAC Rotorcraft Subcommittee and as Chairman of the AIA Rotorcraft Advisory Group. He holds four patents and has published more than 20 papers covering an array of topics including Aerodynamics, Icing, Helicopter Design, Composites, Technology Strategy, and Re-engineering.
Dr. Rosen’s lecture will be featured in an upcoming edition of the Journal of the American Helicopter Society and he will be honored at FORUM 63 with the presentation of a certificate and a medallion. His lecture will highlight past, present and future technology challenges for the rotorcraft industry based on his 40-plus years of R & D leadership.
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