Mark A. Burgess  

Mark A. Burgess earned three Purdue degrees: bachelor's (1978) and master’s (1979) degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, as well as a master’s degree in industrial administration (1982). Burgess began his career at The Boeing Company in 1979, spending his first 14 years in various engineering roles. In 1993, as part of the Joint Strike Force, he became site director for St. Louis and team leader on the X-32 Air Vehicle Analysis and Integration. Burgess was elevated to director of Advanced Lean Enterprise and chief information officer for Phantom Works eight years later and promoted to chief engineer for Phantom Works in 2007. Two years after that, he became chief engineer for Boeing Research and Technology. In 2010, he assumed the chief engineer role for Engineering Operations and Technology, taking charge of Boeing’s centrally managed engineering and development operations and executive management of more than 8,000 engineers. Purdue honored Burgess with a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award in 2013.