Published: March 25, 2024 • By Jeff Zehnder

The Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences is honoring nine alumni for outstanding contributions to industry, for technical achievement, and public service.

The 2024 AeroBuffs Club Alumni Academy inductees are being recognized for work in business, civil, and military aerospace spheres.

“Smead Aerospace has outstanding graduates serving as leaders across the aerospace industry," said Hanspeter Schaub, professor and chair of Smead Aerospace. "We're excited to recognize these individuals for their personal achievements and what they've given to our industry as a whole. They're solving big challenges and pushing the limits of what is possible in aerospace engineering sciences."

Honorees are being recognized in three categories:

Outstanding Alumni for Excellence in Commercial Enterprise

  • Derek Lerner (AeroEngr BS'04) (Over 40 Category) – As senior director within the Corporate Chief Technology Office at Northrop Grumman, Lerner leads  the engineering and systems engineering capabilities for the corporation, with previous key roles at both Orbital ATK and Orbital Sciences.
  • Dave Murrow (AeroEngr BS'84) (Over 40 Category) – Murrow has served in major roles designing deep space exploration missions for Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, retiring in 2023 after a 36 year career. He now operates his own consulting business, Space Connections.
  • Todd Mosher (AeroEngr MS'95, PhD'00) (Over 40 Category) – Mosher is a director at Blue Origin with more than 30 years of experience working in human and robotic spaceflight systems as a technical authority and manager, and is currently a Presidential Leadership Scholar.
  • Chris Ellerhorst (AeroEngr BS'08) (Under 40 Category) – Ellerhorst has served in leading roles at United Launch Alliance and Lockheed Martin, and is currently vice president of the Kuiper Program at ULA, overseeing financial, technical and operational activities of the multi-billion dollar program.
  • Ryan Slabaugh (AeroEngr BS'15, MS'15) (Under 40 Category) – A Marine Corps combat veteran with software engineering leadership experience at Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Slabaugh has garnered recognition for his strategic leadership in delivering mission-critical software and fostering cultural change.

Outstanding Alumni for Excellence in Public Service

  • Patrick Binning (AeroEngr MS'94, PhD'97) (Over 40 Category) – Binning is an aerospace defense leader and educator, directing teams that have made ground-breaking contributions to projects at the Naval Research Lab, National Reconnaissance Office, Missile Defense Agency, and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

Outstanding Alumni for Excellence in Technical Achievement

  • Jack Elston (ElCompEngr’03, MS’05, AeroEngr MS’07 PhD’11) (Over 40 Category) – As CEO and co-founder of Black Swift Technologies, Elston has built a startup developing uncrewed aircraft systems for extreme environments, including wildland fires, volcanoes, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
  • Jen Uchida (AeroEngr BS'05, MS'05) (Over 40 Category) – Uchida is a senior test program manager at Boeing with a career spanning the flight test industry from military aircraft, to civil type certification, to electric aviation. She is a former NASA Astronaut finalist, and volunteers time with CU Boulder, professional societies, and scholarship foundations for women in STEM.
  • Laura Stiles (AeroEngr MS'11, PhD'13) (Under 40 Category) – Stiles has served more than 10 years an aerospace engineer at Blue Origin, holding multiple design, test, and launch positions advancing private human spaceflight. She is now a Blue Origin astronaut trainer and leads multiple technical evaluation committees at the company.

All of the honorees will be officially recognized at the 2024 AeroBuffs Club alumni banquet and awards ceremony on April 19. Registrations are still being accepted for CU Boulder aerospace alumni who would like to attend.

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