The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is pleased to announce Aslaug Haraldsdottir, Ph.D. as the recipient of the 2009 SWE Achievement Award for accomplishments in Air Traffic Management, communication, navigation and surveillance system design, greatly influencing the future worldwide Air Traffic Management systems.
"Dr. Haraldsdottir is recognized across the globe for her expertise and research in Air Traffic Management, and communication, navigation and surveillance system design," says Nora Lin, SWE president. "Her pioneering work in connecting Air Traffic Management operations, and human and subsystem characteristics in airspace models provides key guidance for Boeing's commercial airline avionics product strategy, and has influenced Air Traffic Management system development with the FAA, NASA, MITRE and Eurocontrol."
Dr. Haraldsdottir is a Technical Fellow at The Boeing Company, where she has worked for nearly 15 years. In this role, she leads Boeing's Air Traffic Management (ATM) research and analysis group to define Boeing's global air transportation system development by considering improved ATM capacity, safety and efficiency, and analyzing technology alternatives for airplane and ground system architectures.
"Dr. Aslaug Haraldsdottir is internationally known for her work in the area of Air Traffic Management, specifically in modeling and simulation, and development of efficiency improvement concepts," says Joseph McPherson, chief engineer of avionics at Boeing. "She is a key technical leader at The Boeing Company in these areas. Her work is the cornerstone of our strategies and tactics for improving airspace design, and improving the efficiency of the air transportation system."
Dr. Haraldsdottir began her industry career as a senior applications engineer at Applied Dynamics International Inc., where she developed specifications for supporting matrix calculations in the ADSIM language, and developed and tested numerical algorithms for simulation applications. She left the industry in 1990 to teach mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, followed by senior-level control system design courses at the University of Iceland. When she arrived back in the States, Dr. Haraldsdottir accepted a principal engineer position at Boeing, and in 2003, Boeing named her as part of the company's elite Technical Fellowship. In addition to her daily work, Dr. Haraldsdottir currently serves as an affiliate assistant professor at the University of Washington, serving on M.S. and Ph.D. thesis committees.
Dr. Haraldsdottir has received numerous awards and recognition from her peers, Boeing and the ATM industry, including numerous Best Paper awards and invitations to chair and speak at industry events. Her expertise has been the foundation for over 80 journal articles, conference articles and technical reports she has authored, and numerous conference presentations.
Dr. Haraldsdottir holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iceland, an M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.
The Achievement Award is the highest award given by the Society of Women Engineers. Criteria are based on the significance of the nominee's lifetime achievements and on her sustained contributions to the field of engineering.
The Achievement Award will be presented October 16 at WE09, the Society's Annual Conference. WE09 will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center, October 15-17, in Long Beach, Calif. More than 5,000 attendees include collegians and professionals from the industry, government and academia.
About SWE
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and receive the recognition and credit for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders. More information about the Society is found here.
