Dr. George Paulikas Receives Doolittle,
NRO Awards on Retirement
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (9/8/98) -- Dr. George A. Paulikas received the Jimmy Doolittle Fellowship Award and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Gold Medallion Award in retirement ceremonies at The Aerospace Corporation. He has stepped down as executive vice president after a 37-year career at Aerospace.
The Doolittle award recognizes individuals who have made lifelong military and civilian contributions to national defense, aeronautics and the advancement of America's aerospace endeavors. It is sponsored by The Aerospace Education Foundation of Arlington, Virginia, an affiliate of the Air Force Association, and is named for the late Air Force general who led the famous carrier-based bomber strike against Japan in World War II.
Doolittle, who retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant general, died in 1993. He was a member of The Aerospace Corporation's Board of Trustees from 1963 to 1969. He was vice chairman of the board from 1965 through 1969. Dr. Paulikas joins twelve other Jimmy Doolittle Fellows from The Aerospace Corporation. They are recognized on a "Doolittle Wall" in the lobby of a building Aerospace named for the aviation hero and aerospace pioneer.
The award was presented by Aerospace President Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr., in ceremonies at the company June 18 shortly before Dr. Paulikas relinquished his duties as executive vice president.
NRO Award
The NRO award, the agency's highest, was signed by NRO Director Keith Hall and presented by Hall's representative, Air Force Col. Pat Beauchamp. It recognizes Dr. Paulikas for "exceptional service to the National Reconnaissance Office in the successful on-orbit delivery of...NRO space systems...over the last three decades."
Dr. Paulikas came to Aerospace in 1961 as a member of the technical staff. He rose through the ranks to become department head, laboratory director, vice president, group vice president and senior group vice president. He became executive vice president in 1992.
Dr. Paulikas has been at the forefront of advances in space science, making innumerable technical contributions to such national security space systems such as Defense Support Program, Defense Satellite Communications System, Global Positioning System, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and Milstar. He received the company's highest award, the Trustees' Distinguished Achievement Award, in 1981 in recognition of research which led to a new understanding of the dynamics of space radiation and its effect on spacecraft.
Other Awards
Dr. Paulikas has been recognized with awards and honors from many organizations. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He received the Air Force Space Division Award for Excellence in 1985 and was awarded the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service medal in 1981 and 1996.
He has served as a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, the Naval Studies Board, and the National Research Council's Defense Space Technology Committee. He has been a consultant to the Defense Science Board and has served as a trustee of the California Science Center and the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He currently is chair of the Exploring Executive Committee, Los Angeles Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.
"Thirteen Years"
Dr. Paulikas is a native of Lithuania and is the author of "Thirteen Years--1936-1949," an account of the turbulent period from his birth in Pagegiai to his arrival in the United States. The book, published in 1997 by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc., Pittsburgh, "guides readers through his experiences...as he and his family are trapped in an incredible journey searching for stability in an unstable world."
After his arrival in the United States, Dr. Paulikas attended high school in Chicago, then earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Illinois. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961, then joined The Aerospace Corporation. In addition to the awards mentioned above, Dr. Paulikas is a recipient of the University of Illinois Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering.
