OREANDA-NEWS. July 21, 2016. Six Rockwell Collins engineers were recognized for their leadership, innovation and technical expertise — as well as their dedication to mentoring others — when they were named to the third annual class of Fellows during a special ceremony on July 19 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Rockwell Collins Fellows program, introduced in 2014, honors and recognizes exemplary engineers for advancing Rockwell Collins and their respective fields.

The Class of 2016 includes Stephanie Burns; Ronald Esman, Ph.D.; Jeffery Finley; David Hillman; Chris Jameson and Angus McLean, Ph.D.. These six individuals join an elite group of employees who hold 27 master's degrees, 17 doctoral degrees and more than 400 patents.

Burns is a principal systems engineer in Rotary Wing Platform Systems in Cedar Rapids. She is widely recognized by customers and aerospace and defense industry peers as a technical expert and leader in software and software partitioning, partitioned operating environments and wired networking. She serves as a sub-committee lead on the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE), a consortium-led standard for open systems architectures used in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. She has one pending patent application.

Esman, the first person hired into Rockwell Collins as a Fellow, has significant experience and expertise in electronic warfare (EW), radar and microwave photonics. He has demonstrated proven success in radio frequency, antenna front-ends and fiber optic communications for the U.S. government. Esman is part of Rockwell Collins’ Advanced Technology Center (ATC) and will work from facilities in Columbia, Maryland, and Sterling, Virginia. He currently has 15 issued patents.

Hillman is a principal material and process engineer in Advanced Operations Engineering in Cedar Rapids. He is the recognized Rockwell Collins enterprise technical expert and leading authority for matters related to soldering materials and processes, solder joint reliability, lead-free materials and processes, and metallurgy and finishes. He also is an expert in the electronics industry. Hillman has two issued patents.

Finley is a principal systems engineer in Radar Advanced Applications Engineering in Cedar Rapids. He leads industry committees, pushes the technological envelope and is recognized nationally and internationally as a weather radar authority at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing and Airbus. Finley has 28 issued patents in the field of airborne radar systems and six pending patent applications.

Jameson is a principal systems engineer in Cabin Systems in Irvine, California. He leads forward-thinking innovation lab activities, competitive analysis of both Business Aviation and Air Transport Cabin businesses, and also provides extensive technical experience in product development.

McLean is a principal systems engineer in Immersive and Autonomous Systems in Sarasota, Florida. Part of ATC, Dr. McLean demonstrates technical prowess surrounding high performance distributed computing, blended training technologies, team leadership and business development skills. His research into Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) simulation systems is foundational to a broad array of LVC-enabled product strategies the company continues to pursue.

“Our Fellows are the visionaries who have dared to pursue the unknown and have made it a reality,” said Nan Mattai, senior vice president of Engineering & Information Technology at Rockwell Collins. “They have created the standard for technical excellence in their respective fields, developed industry-leading innovations and influenced a broad array of technologies and products that are helping to keep people safe, connected and informed.

“Being a Rockwell Collins Fellow is a title these individuals have earned and a distinction for which they should be extremely proud,” continued Mattai. “They are highly visible role models for our engineering workforce.”

About Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins is a pioneer in the development and deployment of innovative aviation and high-integrity solutions for both commercial and government applications. Our expertise in flight deck avionics, cabin electronics, mission communications, simulation and training, and information management is delivered by a global workforce, and a service and support network that crosses more than 150 countries. To find out more, please visit www.rockwellcollins.com.