Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award

2025 Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award

We are thrilled to announce a landmark event for the ATCA community! For the first time, the prestigious Glen Gilbert Trophy will be celebrated and awarded at the very place it calls home — the extraordinarily renovated Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Join us for an unforgettable evening of elegance on October 29, 2025. This black-tie affair will honor excellence in the aerospace industry , all in a setting as iconic as the achievements we recognize.

Soirée Details:

What: Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award Soirée
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Where: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
Why: Celebrate the Glen Gilbert Awardee (To be Announced), the spectacular Trophy and its remarkable legacy in aviation

2024 Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award Recipient

Nicholas E. Calio

President & CEO, Airlines for America

The Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award is dedicated to the memory of one of the recognized “Fathers of Air Traffic Control” and honors the lifelong achievements of an individual in the field of aviation. Glen Gilbert was a visionary who, along with Earl Ward, founded the U.S. air traffic system and dedicated his professional career to its improvement. The design of the trophy includes the Roman God Jupiter, the deity of weather, sky, and light, and a depiction of the earth and its atmosphere.

The award trophy is inscribed with recipient names and was donated by ATCA Corporate Member, Raytheon Company. The Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award is on permanent display in the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C. The trophy underwent a complete restoration in 2005 thanks to a generous donation by the Raytheon Company.

The Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award represents ATCA’s most prestigious honor and is typically awarded during the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award Banquet held during the ATCA Connect.

Press Release Announcement

GLEN A. GILBERT MEMORIAL AWARD RECIPIENTS

2024 Nicholas E. Calio, President & CEO, Airlines for America
2023 Teri Bristol, Founder, Bristol Consulting, LLC
2022 Massimo Garbini, Chief Executive Officer at ENAV; ATM Executive Board Member at Frequentis
2019 Daniel K. Elwell, FAA Deputy Administrator
2018 Linda Hall Daschle, Acting FAA Administrator; President, LHD & Associates, Inc.
2017 Richard H. Anderson, Northwest Airlines, Inc and Delta Air Lines, Inc.
2016 Paul Rinaldi, President, NATCA
2015 Sid Koslow, Vice President, and Chief Technology Officer, NAV CANADA
2014 Monte Belger, Acting FAA Deputy Administrator; President, Metron Aviation
2013 Patrick Ky, Executive Director, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
2012 Peter Challan, Vice President of Industry Relations, Harris Corporation
2011 Jane Garvey, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration; Chairman, Meridiam
2010 Neil R. Planzer, Vice President, The Boeing Company
2009 Allan McArtor, Chairman, Airbus Americas, Inc.
2008 John Crichton, President, CEO, NAV CANADA
2007 Gerald L. Thompson, Chairman, Jerry Thompson and Associates
2006 Garland “Cas” Castleberry, FAA Associate Administrator, President of ATCA

2005 James L. Oberstar, Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives
2004 Wolfgang Philipp, Senior Director, EUROCONTROL
2003 Andy Pitas, Founder of ATCA, Professional Air Traffic Controller
2002 Frank Frisbie, Northrup Grumman, FAA Deputy Associate Administrator
2001 William Pollard, CEO, Air Services Australia, Professional Air Traffic Controller
2000 Gabriel A. Hartl, Colonel USAF Retired, President of ATCA
1999 Langhorne Bond, FAA Administrator
1998 Stanley Seltzer, V.P., American Airlines, Professional Air Traffic Controller
1997 Yves Lambert, Director General of EUROCONTROL
1996 Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Congressman
1995 Captain Elrey B. Jeppesen, Airline Captain, Founder, Jeppesen & Co.
1994 Tirey Vickers, Editor of ATCA Journal, Professional Air Traffic Controller
1993 Joseph Del Balzo, Deputy FAA Administrator, Electrical Engineer
1991 John Winant, President, National Business Aircraft Association
1990 A. Scott Crossfield, Aircraft Test Pilot
1989 J. Lynn Helms, FAA Administrator, President, Piper Aircraft Co.
1988 Najeeb Halaby, FAA Administrator, President, Pan Am Airways
1986 David Thomas, Deputy FAA Administrator, Professional Air Traffic Controller