Kelly Johnson Award Nominations for 2025 Now Open

We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting nominations for the esteemed Kelly Johnson Award. This prestigious individual award honors outstanding achievement in the field of Flight Test Engineering and has been a cornerstone of our society since its inception in 1973.

View Previous Winners of the Kelly Johnson Award

We invite you to submit your nominations for this distinguished recognition by midnight Pacific Daylight Time (U.S.) on July 31st. The Kelly Johnson Award celebrates a single individual for their significant impact and contributions within the field of flight test engineering. Although the nominee does not need to be a SFTE member, only SFTE members can submit nominations.

Please submit only one written nomination per candidate, ensuring it is no more than 5 pages in length. Your submission should compellingly argue why the nominee deserves to receive the society’s highest individual award and may include testimonials. The Board of Directors will select the awardee based on the nominee’s impact and achievements. We encourage you to minimize lists of statistics and specialized jargon, and refrain from including any proprietary or restricted-access information. Of particular interest are vignettes or short stories that highlight the nominee's contributions, which can be shared when announcing the award recipient.

Once the awardee is chosen, the Board of Directors will request a well-produced multimedia presentation highlighting the nominee’s significant contributions over their career. This presentation will accompany the award presentation, which forms the centerpiece of the Annual Awards Banquet (live webcast) following the Symposium. We will also request assistance from the nominator to coordinate the award recipient’s attendance at the Awards Banquet if possible.

Please remember that the identity of the award recipient will be kept a surprise until announced at the Awards Banquet.

We look forward to receiving your nominations, please submit them at the link below.

Submit Your Nomination for the 2025 Kelly Johnson Award Now