.jpg?v=1)
The submission due date has passed. If you would like to submit a nomination package, contact Amy at awalker@blue52productions.com.
Click here to submit your Lifetime Achievement Nomination
We are now taking nominations for the 2022 David M. Altwegg Lifetime Achievement Award. The nomination consists of a two-page write-up addressing the candidate's embodiment of the criteria below. Nominations submitted before 15 December 2021 will be considered for award at the 2022 Symposium.
David M. Altwegg Lifetime Achievement Award
The David M. Altwegg Lifetime Achievement Award recognized and honored an individual from Government, Industry, or Academia, who has made significant contributions to the Fire Control community, thus strengthening national defense and benefiting the warfighter over a period of time greater than 20 years. Nominees should exemplify the following traits:
The first David M. Altwegg Lifetime Achievement Award was presented posthumously to David M. Altwegg at a ceremony during the 2018 NFCS Plenary session. In 2019, the award went to Mr. William Moore, Senior Strategic Advisor, Defense Engineering Corporation.
Mr. Altwegg was a pioneer in Naval fire control - a driving force behind creating the Forward Pass CONOPS, acquiring interceptor missiles, creating the Aegis fleet, and setting-up ashore infrastructure that led to NIFC-CA. He defined the modern acquisition spiral development approach as the MDA Executive Director. Throughout his 64 year career serving the DoD, RADM Altwegg left his mark on technologies, tactics and people. The National Fire Control Symposium itself is a testament to RADM Altwegg's belief that people and knowledge are imperatives.
Mr. Robert Pinto has dedicated his 40+ year career to advancing Fire Control technologies and capabilities. He serves as the Fire Control Factor IV Subject Matter Expert (SME) advisor in the Fire Control Systems & Technology Directorate, which oversees the Fire Control development for Army systems including Artillery, Mortars, Crew Served and small arms systems. In a career spanning 40+ years only within the Fire Control community, Mr. Pinto has consistently applied his engineering skills for the benefit of the Warfighter and is continually at the forefront of Fire Control technology. His dedicated work and expertise were pivotal in the conceptualization and implementation of digital fire control and guided munitions for Army systems, which has changed the way the Army engages its adversaries. These efforts started in the late 1970’s with significant contributions to the development of the first hand held fire direction computer. The next 40 years continued with work on the M198, M777 and M119 Howitzers, M109 Paladin, LADS, the XM982 Excalibur projectile, and the 60, 81 and 120mm mortar platforms, such as M95/96, Stryker, Dragon Fire. Along with influencing these and many other weapon systems, Mr. Pinto developed novel and new methods to qualify and measure weapon accuracy including the BEAMS system. Beyond his technical achievements, he is known as the “Engineers Engineer” amongst his peers having stayed on a technical track for his full career. He takes time to aid and mentor those he works with to ensure that the fundamentals of Fire Control are understood and appreciated by all engineers and scientists he encounters. Mr. Pinto has a Baccalaureate of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a member of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and military Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
Early Career Award
The Early Career award criteria are:
First Place: Mr. Cliff Chang, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, “Advance Lethality – Kinetic Energy (AL-KE)”
Second Place: Mr. Adam Byerly, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, “On-Orbit Dark Ship Target Recognition”
Third Place: Mr. Andrew Schoer, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, “Scalable Engagement Planning Framework for Missile Defense”
The Early Career Award recognizes an "early career" presenter/author for making meaningful contributions to the Fire Control Community. Those working in support of our national defense for 7 or fewer years that deliver and author an oral presentation are eligible for consideration of this award.
Poster Award
The 2021 National Fire Control Symposium will once again present a Peer Reviewed Poster Award. All attendees will be able to cast their vote for the three best overall NFCS posters.
First Place: Dr. Nicholas Allan and Ms. Marisa Zemsky, MIT Lincoln Laboratory “Next Generation Airborne C2 and Early Warning Architecture Considerations”
Second Place: Mr. Shahidul Khan, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center, “Role of Multifunctional Fire Control Radar Sensor in Long Range Engagements”
Third Place: Mr. Daniel Oberlander and Dr. Hesham Attia, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, “An Over-the-Horizon Millimeter Wave Radar Concept for Long-Range Engagements using High Altitude Airships”