Boeing

Alfred Awani, a Philadelphia engineer who played a crucial role in the development of the advanced RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, will receive the 2001 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Outstanding Technical Contribution in Industry in a ceremony on Feb. 10. He is the only winner in this category. The Black Engineer of the Year Award recognizes the achievements of the country's most successful African-American engineers, scientists and technology leaders. Awani joined Boeing in 1983 as an advanced configuration manager in the company's Research and Development organization. He served as project engineering manager on the LHX light attack helicopter program, responsible for the application of low-observable technology. After the LHX became the RAH-66 Comanche, Awani was named the program's military technology manager. In that role, he made an important contribution to the technical development and the proposal effort for the highly competitive program and helped Boeing to win the contract. Awani, of Wilmington, Del., received his doctorate in engineering from the University of Kansas in 1981; his master's in aerospace engineering and in management from Northrop University in 1977 and 1978, respectively; and his bachelor's in aeronautical engineering from the Aerospace Institute in Chicago in May 1975.