“Purdue taught me that technology changes, but science lasts, and that to be a good engineer is to be part of the change, not a keeper of formulas. The things I learned about drawing tables, punch cards and the shape of airplanes have become obsolete. I still use the aeronautical science.”
Paul M. Bevilaqua has spent much of his career in the development of Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft. He joined Lockheed Martin in 1985 as Chief Aeronautical Scientist of the Lockheed Advanced Aeronautics Company and in 1991 became Chief Engineer of Advanced Development Projects in the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. During this time, he played a leading role in creating the Joint Strike Fighter program. He invented a Lift Fan Propulsion System that made it possible to build a stealthy, supersonic VTOL airplane and led the engineering team that demonstrated the feasibility of building variants of this aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. Most recently, he has innovated in applying the principles of lean manufacturing to engineering and design activities.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, from 1975-85, he was Manager of Advanced Programs at Rockwell International’s Navy Aircraft plant. From 1971-75, he was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and Deputy Director of the Energy Conversion Laboratory at Wright Patterson AFB
Bevilaqua received the Newbold Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the U.S. Air Force Scientific Achievement Award for his contributions to VSTOL technology. He also received the Skunk Works’ Kelly Johnson Inventor’s Award, the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company AeroStar Award and the Lockheed Martin Corporate NOVA Award. He is a Fellow of the AIAA. His Lift Fan Propulsion System was awarded the Collier Trophy for the greatest advance in aeronautics in America demonstrated during 2001.