The James H. Doolittle Award is an honor presented annually by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots

Society of Experimental Test Pilots

The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional...

. It is an award for "outstanding accomplishment in technical management or engineering achievement in aerospace technology". The award consists of a perpetual trophy on permanent display at SETP headquarters, and a smaller replica presented to the recipient. It is named after General James Doolittle

Jimmy Doolittle

General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...

, famous for the Doolittle Raid

Doolittle Raid

The Doolittle Raid, on 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese Home Islands during World War II. By demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, it provided a vital morale boost and opportunity for U.S. retaliation after the...

 on Tokyo during World War II.

Criteria

The Society lists three criteria for nominations to this award:

1. The recipient must be a living member of the Society
2. A significant phase of the accomplishment must have occurred while a member of the Society
3. The accomplishment must clearly be in the technical management or engineering aspects of aerospace technology

Recipients

• 1966 - James L. Pearce
• 1967 - Richard W. Taylor
• 1968 - William Paul Thayer
• 1969 - Guy M. Townsend
  Guy M. Townsend
  Guy Mannering Townsend III was a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General, test pilot, and combat veteran...
  
  , BGen., USAF (Ret)
• 1970 - William M. Magruder
• 1971 - C. H. Meyer
• 1972 - Donald K. Slayton
  Deke Slayton
  Donald Kent Slayton , better known as Deke Slayton, was an American World War II pilot and later, one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts....
  
  , NASA/MSC
• 1973 - William S. Ross, McDonnell Aircraft Company
• 1974 - William R. Murray
• 1975 - Robert A. Rushworth
  Robert A. Rushworth
  Robert Aitken Rushworth was a United States Air Force test pilot for the North American X-15 program. Born in Madison, Maine on October 9, 1924. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Maine, receiving a BE in 1951. He received a BS in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force...
  
  , Major General, USAF
• 1976 - Frank Borman
  Frank Borman
  Frank Frederick Borman, II is a retired NASA astronaut and engineer, best remembered as the Commander of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon, making him, along with fellow crew mates Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, the first of only 24 humans to do so...
  
  
• 1977 - Robert C. Little
• 1978 - William R. Laidlaw
• 1979 - Thomas P. Stafford
  Thomas Patten Stafford
  Thomas Patten Stafford is a retired American Air Force lieutenant general and former NASA astronaut. He flew aboard two Gemini space flights; and in 1969 was the commander of Apollo 10, the second manned mission to orbit the Moon and the first to fly a lunar module there.In 1975, Stafford was...
  
  , LGen., USAF
• 1980 - J. Lynn Helms
  J. Lynn Helms
  J. Lynn Helms is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, former President of Piper Aircraft Corp. and is most recognized for the years in which he served as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, as an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.-History:During his tenure as FAA...
  
  
• 1981 - Thomas B. Hayward
  Thomas B. Hayward
  Admiral Thomas Bibb Hayward was Chief of Naval Operations for the United States Navy from July 1, 1978, until June 30, 1982, after which he retired from military service. He is a 1947 graduate of the United States Naval Academy...
  
  , Admiral, USN
• 1982 - Allen E. Paulson
  Allen E. Paulson
  Allen Eugene Paulson was an American aviation entrepreneur, philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse breeder and owner, and a self-made multi-millionaire.-Business career in aviation:Born in Clinton, Iowa, Allen E...
  
  
• 1983 - Herbert Z. Hopkins
• 1984 - Donald D. Engen, VAdm, USN (Ret)
• 1985 - Olle Klinker
• 1986 - Hon. John E. Krings
• 1987 - Burt Rutan
  Burt Rutan
  Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
  
  , Scaled Composites
  Scaled Composites
  Scaled Composites is an aerospace company founded by Burt Rutan and currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States...
  
  
• 1988 - Richard H. Truly
  Richard H. Truly
  Richard Harrison Truly is a retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, Naval Aviator, former astronaut, and was the eighth Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1989 to 1992...
  
  , Rear Admiral, USN
• 1989 - Irving L. Burrows
• 1990 - Robert P. Harper
• 1991 - Gordon E. Fornell, LGen., USAF
• 1992 - William C. Bowes, Vadm., USN and Peter W. Odgers, MGen, USAF (Ret)
• 1993 - A. W. "Tony" LeVier
  Tony LeVier
  Anthony W. "Tony" LeVier was an air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s.- Early life :...
  
  
• 1994 - Per E. Pellebergs
• 1995 - Stephan A. Hanvey
• 1996 - Sean C. Roberts, National Test Pilot School
  National Test Pilot School
  The National Test Pilot School is a civilian test pilot school located at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. The school attracts students primarily from commercial aircraft manufacturers and military air forces...
  
  
• 1997 - Frank D. Robinson
  Frank D. Robinson
  Franklin D. "Frank" Robinson is an engineer and the founder, president and Chief Executive Officer of Robinson Helicopter Company of Torrance, California...
  
  
• 1998 - J. Kenneth Higgins
• 1999 - Pete Reynolds
  Pete Reynolds
  -External links:...
  
  
• 2000 - Sir Charles Masefield
• 2001 - Joseph Wendell Dyer, Jr., Vice Admiral (USN) / NASA / iRobot
• 2002 - Phil Schultz
• 2003 – Rogers E. Smith, EADS
• 2004 – Burt Rutan
  Burt Rutan
  Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
  
  
• 2005 - Robert C. Ettinger, Northrop Grumman
  Northrop Grumman
  Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
  
   Unmanned Systems
• 2006 - Terry E. Tomeny, Eclipse Aviation
  Eclipse Aviation
  Eclipse Aviation Corporation was the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 very light jet and also at one time proposed developing the Eclipse 400 single-engined jet....
  
  
• 2007 - Robert L. Crippen
  Robert Crippen
  Robert Laurel Crippen is an engineer, retired United States Navy Captain and a former NASA astronaut. He flew on four Space Shuttle missions, including three as commander...
  
  
• 2008 - M. Lynn Hanks, Army Technical Test Center
• 2009 - Louis H. Knotts, Calspan Corporation
• 2010 - Dennis P. O'Donoghue, The Boeing Company