Thirty-First Annual Pathfinder Awards

Thirty-First Annual Pathfinder Awards - October 20, 2012

In the last 100 years, our dreams of flight have taken us beyond the horizon and into space. And the dreams for tomorrow continue. The Museum of Flight Pathfinder Awards honor pioneering achievements in flying, engineering, education, operations, manufacturing, and an at-large category. Three individuals have been selected for recognition in 2012:

Bill Ayer

Bill Ayer is chairman of Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Ayer began his career with Alaska Airlines in 1995 as vice president of marketing and planning, and later was elected president and chief operating officer. In 2002, he became Alaska's chief executive officer and, in May 2003, was named chairman, president and CEO of Alaska Air Group. Prior to his tenure with Alaska, Ayer spent 13 years at Horizon, where he held a variety of marketing and operations positions. Early in his career, Ayer founded Air Olympia, a commuter airline serving Washington state, and was a regional manager for Piper Aircraft Company.

Barbara Morgan

Over her extensive career, Barbara Morgan has contributed to education and our nation's space program as a teacher and astronaut. Inspired by President Reagan's 1984 announcement of the opportunity, she applied for the Teacher in Space Program, hoping to use the experience to expand the walls of her classroom. Morgan was selected as Christa McAuliffe's backup in 1985, and trained with the Challenger crew from September 1985 to January 1986 at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Although the Challenger mission came to a tragic end, Morgan's mission had only begun.

Dr. George Mueller

Dr. George Mueller Dr. George E. Mueller led the Apollo lunar landing program that put Americans on the moon less than seven years after he was assigned to the program. In 1963, Dr. Mueller was asked by NASA administrator James Webb to join NASA as head of the manned space flight program, where he was responsible for the Gemini, Apollo, and Saturn programs. This role required Dr. Mueller to integrate the diverse engineering cultures of Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center, all of which reported to him. From the beginning of Gemini flight operations in 1963 through the second Apollo moon landing in 1969, he directed the U.S. manned flight program as Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight. He was also the originator of Skylab, the world's first space station, and is credited as the "Father of the Space Shuttle," the first reusable space transportation system.

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The Pathfinder awardees are selected by representatives of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics PNW Section, The Boeing Company, Civil Air Patrol, Federal Aviation Administration, The Museum of Flight, Ninety-Nines, Pratt & Whitney, Seattle Soaring Club, Sterling Aviation Technologies, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Experimental Test Engineers, University of Washington, Washington State Department of Transportation and Women in Aviation.