Auburn alumni shine at AIAA Gala

Two alumni from Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering were recognized earlier this year by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for their exceptional contributions to aerospace engineering.

Mark Miller, ’84 and ’85 aerospace engineering and senior vice president for missile and aviation systems at Leidos/Dynetics, received the 2024 Reed Aeronautics Award. JD McFarlan, ’84, mechanical engineering and vice president for air vehicle engineering at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, was named an AIAA Fellow.

The Reed Aeronautics Award, according to AIAA, is the highest honor the institution bestows for notable achievements in aeronautics. Named after Sylvanus A. Reed, an aeronautical engineer, designer and founding member of the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences in 1932, the award recognizes excellence in the field.

The citation on the award reads, “In recognition of contributions to engineering advancement of grid fin aerodynamic control technology, from seminal research through pervasive technology adoption into flight systems, including reusable launch vehicles.”

“I am humbled to receive this award and am indebted to my colleagues at Dynetics who consistently supported and collaborated with me in my engineering endeavors for over three decades,” Miller said. “A close friend and mentor told me many years ago, 'Surround yourself with smart people, and others might mistake you as one of them'— those words of wisdom ring ever true today. I am also grateful for the professors at Auburn who inspired me as a student, as well as a number of customers who entrusted me to explore and implement unconventional approaches to solve some rather challenging problems in the field of aeronautics.” 

Auburn’s aerospace engineering department named Miller its 2012 Outstanding Alumnus, and he was recognized as an AIAA Technical Fellow in 2019. He serves on the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, where he chairs the research committee, and is a former chair and current member of the Department of Aerospace Engineering Industry Advisory Board. He has also contributed in the classroom, teaching a course on campus at Auburn spring 2024 entitled ‘Practical Aspects of Aerospace Engineering’ which he will teach again spring 2025.

Miller is also a member of Auburn’s EAGLE Society and helped to establish the Aerospace Engineering Advisory Council Endowed Scholarship. 

McFarlan, who was named an AIAA Fellow, is a member of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, Department of Aerospace Engineering Industry Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail in Fort Worth. He also serves as the executive sponsor for Lockheed Martin’s engagement with Auburn University and was honored as the 2021 Outstanding Mechanical Engineering alumnus at Auburn University.

“It is a tremendous honor, and I feel very privileged to be inducted as an AIAA Fellow,” McFarlan said. “I was especially grateful to share the stage with Mark and to know that the foundation of my career was my education at Auburn University. I will be forever grateful to Auburn and the Auburn family.”

He has 40 years of experience in advanced aerospace defense products, including 20 years supporting the development of the F-35, leading the Propulsion, Air Vehicle and Flight Test teams. McFarlan was recognized for the development of the F-35 propulsion system, leading F-35 flight tests and decades of technical innovation and service to the profession. As vice president for air vehicle engineering at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, his team provides engineering support for all aircraft programs at Aeronautics.

McFarlan and his wife, Tammy, have also established a scholarship endowment in aerospace engineering — the JD and Tammy McFarlan Ever Auburn Scholarship — and he is a member of the college’s EAGLE society.