Professional Award Recipients Honored
2025
The following individuals and teams will be honored at the Annual Professional T&E Award Ceremony and Luncheon, during the 42nd International Test & Evaluation Symposium, at the Destin Hilton Resort in Destin, Florida on November 14, 2025.
The Dr Allen R Matthews Award
Mr. Russell (Rusty) Roberts of Georgia Tech Research Institute
It is ITEA’s distinct honor to recognize Mr. Russell L. (Rusty) Roberts as the 2025 recipient of the Dr. Allen R. Matthews Award for his exceptional and enduring contributions to the test and evaluation (T&E) community. Mr. Roberts has been an ardent supporter of ITEA, serving in numerous leadership roles at both the chapter and national levels, culminating in his tenure as Chairman of the ITEA Board of Directors. His tireless advocacy for the Association has strengthened ITEA’s reach and reputation by bringing GTRI programs and personnel into the broader T&E community through workshops, conferences, and annual symposia. With nearly five decades of dedicated service to our Nation, including over 30 years of continuous and influential involvement in test and evaluation, Rusty Roberts stands as a national asset to the T&E profession and a treasured member of the ITEA family.
The Technical Achievement Award
The EoS Team from the 96th Range Control Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base
Developed entirely in-house by the 96th Range Control Squadron (96 RNCS), Eos revolutionizes real-time telemetry processing. Addressing the complex demands of modern aerospace systems, its software-based solution eliminates the need for costly, inflexible legacy hardware. Eos has supported over 180 missions, including platforms like the F-15EX, A-10, F-18, F-16, and crucially, the XQ-58 autonomous aircraft, for which Eos provided the only viable telemetry decommutation solution. This scalable, perpetually adaptable system, running on inexpensive COTS hardware, avoids recurring costs associated with traditional solutions, saving an estimated $1.2 to $2.5 million every five years per system, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in savings across multiple ranges. The EoS Team is recognized for revolutionizing real-time telemetry processing.
The Special Achievement Award
Weapons Standardization, 96th Maintenance Group, Eglin Air Force Base
The 96th Weapons Standardization team distinguished themselves through exceptional innovation, technical expertise, and mission execution during the FALCO laser-guided rocket certification on the F-15E Strike Eagle. Responding to an ACC Urgent Operational Need, this 16-member team executed 84 load operations, authored seven technical manuals, and developed training adopted by ten CAF units. They cut certification timelines from 60 days to 8, enabling combat deployment within 72 hours and delivering a new anti-drone capability to CENTCOM forces. Their validated loading procedures for hypersonic and anti-ship missiles ensured safe, precise, and cost-effective test environments. Their leadership contributed to the interception of over 100 hostile drones and advancement of low-cost precision strike capabilities, reflecting great credit upon themselves, the 96th Test Wing, and the United States Air Force.
The Major General Richard G Cross, Jr Award
Mr. Tim Grabert, Nova Systems Australia
Tim Grabert is recognised for his outstanding leadership in advancing Australia’s sovereign T&E capability. A former Australian Army officer and rotary wing flight test engineer, Tim led the creation of the Nova Systems T&E Centre of Excellence and the pioneering Advanced T&E Practitioners Course; Australia’s first integrated training program using real-world mission systems to teach scientific test techniques, digital engineering and mission assurance. A graduate of the Empire Test Pilots’ School, Tim also manages cutting-edge R&D in AI assurance, synthetic environments and operational experimentation. His work has delivered over 5,000 hours of capability development in 12 months and empowered Defence and industry professionals with world-leading skills. Tim’s visionary approach is reshaping the future of T&E education, fostering collaboration across Defence, academia and industry, and driving innovation in complex systems testing. He also serves on the Board of ITEA, further amplifying his impact on global T&E standards and applications.
The Publications Award
Dr. Joe Gregory, Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering, University of Arizona
The publication Reference or your presentation during Session: Digital Engineering: Digital Thread & Ecosystem at the 2024 AIAA SCITECH Forum and online publication of Spacecraft Test and Evaluation using Semantic Web Technologies
For pioneering the application of semantic web technologies to strengthen test and evaluation processes through the development of the Orbital Verification Ontology Stack (OVOS). By enabling seamless traceability from requirements to analysis results, this work advances verification practices by improving data integration, validation, and reasoning across engineering tools. Demonstrated on a notional LEO spacecraft project, the approach enhances the rigor, transparency, and efficiency of test and evaluation activities within a digital engineering environment.
The Early Career Award
Mr. Benjamin Hornblower, Effectiveness Evaluator, Army Test and Evaluation Command
For outstanding achievement in the field of Test and Evaluation early in his career, Mr. Benjamin Hornblower demonstrated exceptional initiative, innovation, and impact as the Army Test and Evaluation Command Liaison Officer at the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine. His leadership in integrating T&E expertise into real-world operational support enabled more agile acquisition processes, cost-effective system delivery, and data-informed force design. Mr. Hornblower’s forward-leaning approach to T&E under urgent conditions directly enhanced combat readiness and shaped the best practices for future capability development. His accomplishments exemplify the highest standards of the T&E profession and reflect great credit upon himself, the Army Test and Evaluation Command, and the broader defense T&E Community.
2024
The following individuals and teams were honored at the Annual Professional T&E Award Ceremony and Luncheon, which was held during the 41st International Test & Evaluation Symposium, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama on November 13, 2024.
The 2024 Allen R. Matthews Award
Dr. Eileen A Bjorkman, USAF Col Retired and Author
Named after Dr. Allen R. Matthews, founder and first president of ITEA. It is presented to an individual for a lasting, significant contribution to the field of T&E, such as the cumulative effect of a distinguished career. The Allen R. Matthews award is the highest award bestowed by ITEA.
Dr. Bjorkman was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1980 and served nearly 30 years in the Air Force, retiring as a colonel. During her military career, she served as a Flight Test Engineer, Instructor and Test Squadron Commander. She was a Senior Non-rated Aircrew Member and flew more than 700 hours as a Flight Test Engineer in more than 25 different aircraft, primarily the F-4 Phantom II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-130 Hercules and C-141 Starlifter. She also held multiple staff and director positions involving modeling, simulation, analysis and joint testing, retiring from active duty as the Chief of the Modeling and Simulation Policy Division, Warfighter Systems Integration and Deployment. Dr. Bjorkman was appointed as a Senior Leader Executive in January 2010, and entered the Senior Executive Service in 2015. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she was Executive Director, Air Force Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California. She served as principal deputy to the AFTC Commander on all matters under the cognizance of the Commander. She had extensive authority for broad management, policy development, decision-making and effective program execution of the AFTC’s developmental test and evaluation mission. Her role as Executive Director involved long and short-range planning, policy development, the determination of program and center goals, including those involving scientific and technical matters, and the overall management of the AFTC enterprise. A lifetime member of ITEA with an expansive reach as a volunteer in several leadership positions within the organization, Dr. Borkman continues to remain engaged in its successes. It is with enthusiasm that we recognize Dr. Eileen A. Bjorkman with the prestigious Dr Allen R. Matthews Award.
The 2024 Special Achievement Award
The Joint Strike Fighter Operational Test Team, Joint Simulation Environment, Initial Operational Test and Evaluation Accreditation and Execution Team
This award is given for an exceptional special act of achievement in T&E, such as the solution of a major problem, or a notable project success for which there is evidence that tangible benefits have accrued.
The Joint Strike Fighter Operational Test Team (JOTT) Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) Accreditation and Execution Team distinguished itself through its actions in support of the global F-35 enterprise between July 2023 and June 2024. The multi-national, multi-service and multi-disciplinary Team comprised of pilots, engineers and analysts from the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Australia, planned, executed, and reported on test and evaluation activities, which led to the accreditation of the $400 million JSE facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The Team demonstrated exemplary leadership, determination, and adaptability by directing and integrating with Industry and Government software developers and the simulator accreditation authority. The Team planned and executed the JSE Test-the-Test Event, which resulted in JSE accreditation in August 2023, and the JSE Runs-for-Score Event, which supported F-35 Block 3F IOT&E completion in December 2023. The JSE has become an invaluable warfighter integration capability, providing pilot-in-the-loop high threat, high density test and training benefits, and the Team’s innovative and efficient test and evaluation approach has potential to be adopted across broader test programs. ITEA is pleased to recognize the JOTT JSE IOT&E Accreditation and Execution Team with the Special Achievement Award.
The 2024 Technical Achievement Award
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Aircraft Instrumentation Division’s Cast Glance Team
This award recognizes an individual or group for outstanding achievement in applying instrumentation, information technology, modeling and simulation, time-space-positioning information, electro-optics technology, or other T&E technology to cause a test and evaluation program to be better, faster, and less expensive.
A team of professionals from the Prototyping, Instrumentation, and Experimentation Department’s Aircraft Instrumentation Division—part of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division—successfully developed new test capabilities to obtain an interim flight clearance for Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 and the installation of the specialized Cast Glance camera system on their recently acquired NC-20G Gulfstream. Despite technical hurdles, the team successfully completed this project in under three months, introducing innovative calibration methods to monitor low-output strain measurements and temperature variations. The critical data provided supported the approval of the Cast Glance system interim flight clearance by the NAVAIR Flight Clearance Releasing Authority. The system integration, under the supervision of AIRWorks, will provide essential optical data monitoring during critical phases of ballistic missile testing like launch, stage separation, and impact. This achievement highlights the Aircraft Instrumentation Division’s significant contributions to the project’s success and represents a notable advancement for the test and evaluation community through the development of new techniques. ITEA is pleased to acknowledge the Cast Glance Teams accomplishments.
The 2024 Publications Award
Testing Machine Learning: Best Practices for the Life Cycle article from the ITEA Journal
Author Dr. Jaganmohan Chandrasekaran, Virginia Tech, Research Assistant Professor, along with co-authors, Tyler Cody, Nicola McCarthy, and Erin Lanus
The Award recognizes outstanding contributions to test and evaluation literature. Given for original works in a book, technical paper, or article that improves or increases the body of knowledge and understanding of T&E.
The team’s recent article, “Testing Machine Learning: Best Practices for the Life Cycle,” published in the Naval Engineers Journal, provides a timely, extensive, and rigorous overview of test and evaluation (T&E) best practices for machine learning for the defense community. Perhaps its most distinguishing characteristic is its framing of best practices using the machine learning lifecycle, which includes operational T&E, operations and sustainment. This point of view was not present in the literature before, making the team’s contribution especially impactful for test engineering. The team’s work represents is the result of a concerted effort to address gaps in T&E frameworks and methods for machine learning from the point of view of the defense acquisition process. ITEA is pleased to acknowledge the accomplishments of this Author and Co-Authors.
The 2024 Dr. Wilson N. Felder, II, Early Career Achievement Award
Ms. Chanté Baker, 780th Test Squadron, 96th Test Wing, Eglin AFB
Named after a pioneer and expert in the fields of aviation technology and systems engineering, Dr Felder was the 15th and longest-serving Director of the Federal Aviation Administration, William J. Hughes Technical Center, the nation’s leading air transportation system research laboratory. This award recognizes a professional who, during his or her first 5 years of practicing in the T&E field, has accomplished a significant achievement(s) which enhances and strengthens the T&E profession.
Ms. Chante Baker distinguished herself as Squadron Operations Research Analyst and Digital Engineering Lead, 780th Test Squadron, 96th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Ms. Baker revolutionized the 780th Test Squadron’s roles in DT&E with innovative test design and modeling techniques. She directly impacted the test and evaluation approach for two ACAT I programs by delivering rigorous test designs and digital T&E models which provide real-time access to accurate program information. Furthermore, Ms. Baker was pivotal in modernizing the 4th generation fighter tactics development process with cutting-edge analytic techniques; she provided our warfighters superior options for lethality and survivability against emergent threats. The distinctive accomplishments of Ms. Baker reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force. ITEA is proud to recognize Ms. Chante Baker for her accomplishments.
2023
The following individuals and teams were honored at the Annual Professional T&E Award Ceremony and Luncheon, which was held during the 40th Anniversary of the International Test & Evaluation Symposium, at the Hilton Sandestin Hotel in Miramar Beach, Florida, December 7 2023.
The 2023 Allen R. Matthews Award
Charles R. Garcia
Mr. Charles R. Garcia has over 56 years of experience in test and evaluation. During his federal career, he held various positions of increasing responsibility culminating as the Executive Director of the White Sands Test Center. He retired from federal service in 2003 and subsequently retired from private industry in 2019. Throughout his career, Mr. Garcia supported the International Test and Evaluation Association in many leadership roles, including serving as a Board Member at both the local and national levels. He was the Founder, President, and remains a current member of the White Sands Chapter. He also spearheaded the highly successful ITEA Modeling and Simulation Workshop and served as the workshop chair multiple times. As an ITEA Ambassador, Mr. Garcia continues to work with Chapter leadership to plan highly successful programs that result in scholarship earnings for the future T&E Workforce. Mr. Garcia has demonstrated leadership, professionalism, and integrity throughout his test and evaluation career. His efforts have benefited several professional associations and the services he performed have enhanced and strengthened the test and evaluation profession. He is a well-deserving recipient of the 2023 Allen R. Matthews Award for his lasting, significant contributions and lifetime of service to the field of test and evaluation.
2023 Technical Achievement Award
Advanced Warhead Characterization Team
The 2023 ITEA Technical Achievement Award is presented to the Advanced Warhead Characterization Team for developing innovative tools, methods, and processes to credibly and efficiently evaluate U.S. kinetic weapons against an array of adversary targets. The team leveraged emerging technologies to develop verified, validated, and accredited digital tools critical to the evaluation and planning of mission threads and kill webs in multi-domain operations. Their efforts have made significant strides in the DoD’s ability to identify vulnerabilities and limitations to the lethality, survivability, and responsiveness of the future Joint Force.
2023 Special Achievement Award
Jenna K. Frye
Colonel P.C. Merida awarded Mrs. Frye a Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Marine Corps for her support to the warfighter in 2021. Mrs. Frye displayed exceptional problem-solving abilities and leadership qualities through her Test & Evaluation efforts at the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit Realistic Urban Training Exercise & Deploying Group System Integration Testing and the 22nd MEU Intelligence Section. She utilizes her well-rounded knowledge of industry standards, integrated product team level processes, and project level systems in her approach to T&E activities. She has been heavily involved in innovating new test processes, which have resulted in expedited test events. As an Agile T&E professional, she utilizes her resources and knowledge to improve the quality of the test program while relying heavily on her established relationship with field users.
2023 Richard G. Cross Award
Steven G. Potter
The 2023 ITEA Richard G. Cross Award is presented to Mr. Steven G. Potter of the United States Naval Test Pilot School for exceptional achievements in Test and Evaluation education. He was widely recognized this past year in student reviews for his exemplary classroom instruction. During his 20+ years in T&E education, he has played a direct role in transforming more than 1500 experienced pilots, flight officers, and engineers into critical thinking test and evaluation professionals essential to the successful execution of complex developmental test programs supporting the delivery of enhanced capabilities to warfighters. Mr. Potter’s contributions to the education, professional development, and mentoring of flight test and evaluation personnel exemplify the highest ideals represented by the ITEA and the Major General Richard G. Cross Award.
2023 Dr. Wilson N. Felder II Early Career Achievement Award
Corinne Stafford
For demonstrated potential to impact the test and evaluation community, we present Mrs. Corinne Stafford, TAT Expert at the Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques Center of Excellence, with the Dr. Wilson N. Felder, II, Early Career Award. New to the field, she has worked towards modernizing the culture of test and evaluation through consulting with the United States Department of Defense major acquisition programs, conducting applied research, and educating the test and evaluation workforce, resulting in best practices and advancing skillsets. As team lead for developing Model Readiness Levels, Mrs. Stafford developed a rigorous validation framework that quantifies how much trust can be placed in the results of a model to represent the real world. Her dedication shows great promise for the impact she will have on the field of test and evaluation.
2023 Publications Award
Christopher Collins and Kenneth Senechal
The publication “Test and Evaluation as a Continuum” introduces a new transdisciplinary approach to support DoD’s ability to rapidly respond to changes in current and future operating environments, and enable more responsive capability delivery to meet the Warfighter’s needs. This approach – “T&E as a Continuum” – moves T&E from a serial set of activities conducted largely independent of systems engineering and mission engineering activities to a new integrative framework focused on a continuum of activities. While “T&E as a Continuum” and similar integrated test concepts have been discussed within the T&E community for many years, the publication’s co-authors Mr. Christopher Collins and Mr. Kenneth Senechal bring renewed energy and thought leadership to the discussion. While Mr. Collins and Mr. Senechal’s primary focus is helping transform DoD’s delivery of capability at the “speed of relevance”, their leadership is equally transforming the T&E community at the same time.
Special Recognition for Contributions to the Association:
Association Recipients Honored
The Board of Directors Award is voted on by the sitting Directors and is presented to an individual who has contributed to the growth, development, goals, and mission of the Association.
The Chairman’s Award allows the Chairman to personally acknowledges an individual who is deemed worthy of recognition and who has supported them in their leadership role.
The Energizer Award recognizes a volunteer for their ‘behind the scenes’ contribution to supporting the Test and Evaluation community and this association.
2025
The Board of Directors Award
Mr. Matthew T. Reynolds
A founding member of ITEA with more than 45 years of dedicated service to the Association and a distinguished career in test and evaluation (T&E), Mr. Matt Reynolds has exemplified leadership, scholarship, and unwavering commitment to the profession.
As the 7th Chairman of ITEA, he advanced the organization’s mission. For over a decade, he chaired the Elections Committee, diligently reviewing and vetting candidates. A steadfast supporter, he has attended nearly every Annual Symposium—missing only one —and even phoned in from family travels to stay connected. Matt is the recipient of the 1997 Publications Award, the 2001 Dr. Allen R. Matthews Award, and the 2013 Major General Richard Cross Award for Education. He created and taught the Fundamentals of T&E Course for more than 20 years, shaping generations of T&E professionals. A true ambassador for T&E and ITEA, his legacy of service and education continues to inspire all who follow.
The Chairman’s Award
Mr. John Frederick of Veracity Engineering
We recognize John Frederick for his leadership, strategic vision, and commitment to advancing ITEA. John has served as the ITEA South Jersey Chapter president for 30 years and made workforce development a priority, especially through ITEA courses. His recent retirement changed focus to ITEA, setting a course for growth and expanding our vision beyond the status quo. He created formal liaison relationships between ITEA and the Digital Twin Consortium and ITEA and the International Council on Systems Engineering, bringing ITEA visibility into two international industry-led organizations. He was recently appointed President of the ITEA Strategic Advisory Council and constituted a membership to help ITEA see further. For the upcoming Annual Symposium, he organized a Digital Twin Consortium Technical Interchange Session to introduce attendees to this new relationship and its opportunities. John’s vision and leadership will help sustain and grow ITEA for the next generation, and the next, of T&E professionals.
The Energizer Award
Mr. Andrew Cunningham, QinetiQ UK
In 2023, Mr. Andrew (Andy) Cunningham assumed the role of Western European Chapter President and immediately contributed as a member of the planning committee for the Annual International Test and Evaluation (T&E) Symposium. Building on that success, Andy played a key leadership role in developing the 2024 Symposium program. Rather than pausing after these significant accomplishments, Andy accepted appointment as Technical Chair for a major T&E workshop held in the United Kingdom in May 2025. Despite beginning the planning phase without a full committee, he developed an exceptional program of panels and technical presentations that exceeded all expectations. The workshop—ITEA’s first in the region in many years—attracted nearly 100 attendees and received overwhelming support to become an annual event. Andy and his team are now leading the development of the 2026 program, continuing to expand ITEA’s global reach and impact.
2024
ITEA Board of Directors Award
Terry Murphy, Department of Homeland Security, T&E Directorate
The Board of Directors Award is voted on by the sitting Directors and is presented to an individual who has contributed to the growth, development, goals, and mission of the Association.
Terry Murphy has spent his career in various forms of service. He was an active-duty Marine officer for 26 years. He served as served as T&E Lead for Joint Project Manager – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear, Individual Protection programs, and T&E Manager for Combat Support Equipment, Marine Corps Systems Command. Terry was Senior Analyst in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Developmental Test and Evaluation and in 2015 joined the DHS Office of Test & Evaluation, providing key support to the Director in engagement with major acquisition programs, T&E Workforce Development, development and staffing of T&E policy & guidance, chairing the DHS T&E WIPT, interactions with GAO & Congressional Staffers, and overseeing resources in support of the Office of T&E. He currently serves as Deputy Director of T&E. He is a dedicated ITEA member and active participant in conference planning, teaching tutorials, chairing panels, organizing panels, soliciting speakers, and tirelessly working to make ITEA stronger and a professional destination for early career scientists and engineers. He is CTEP certified, has been an ITEA Advisor for 2 years, and has a dedicated team he calls upon to support ITEA. The ITEA Board of Directors appreciates Terry’s tireless efforts in contributing to its mission and is pleased to recognize him as the recipient of this award.
The Chairman’s Award
Tim Morey, KBR
The Chairman of ITEA personally acknowledges an individual who is deemed worthy of recognition and who has supported them in their leadership role.
Tim Morey has been an active and core member of the test community for decades. He brough that experience and his ability to work across a diverse group of people in his leadership role within ITEA. As the 2024 Chairman I took a great deal of solace knowing that I had been preceded by a stabilizing force of personality who was always willing to provide wise counsel. Tim was instrumental in driving the need for strategic planning in the association and although the full weight of the planning has not been realized, the intent has been felt across the many sub-committees resulting in improvements in growth, the journal and the way we operate for our members. This year, being the 41st year of our symposium and another milestone for growth, I would like to present the Chairman’s award to Tim for his service to the Association and his continued support as a mentor and leader in the T&E community. Thank you, Tim.
2023
2023 Board of Directors Award
Laura Freeman
Dr. Laura Freemen has been our Publication’s Committee Chair, and Editor in Chief of the ITEA Journal for the last five years and has been actively involved in ITEA for over fifteen years. The Publications Committee Chair is typically involved in setting themes for each issue of the ITEA Journal, and then solicitating and selecting applicable abstracts and technical papers for publication in the Journal. In addition to this, 2023 was the year in which we executed our plan to modernize the Journal, and Laura’s leadership, vision, and professional expertise in technical writing and publication is the reason we can all enjoy this new format for years to come. Laura produces results and she has been a key contributor to the growth, development, goals, and mission of the Association., and it gives me great pleasure to present the 2023 Board of Director’s Award to Dr. Laura Freeman.
2023 President’s Award
Linda A. Rapp
For twenty years, Linda Rapp of Linda Rapp Design, has been supporting ITEA with her creativity, positive attitude, and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that ITEA’s brand speaks to its members. Linda is responsible for creating designs that are both functional and visually appealing. Her ability to listen to our needs, understand our vision and translate it into a beautiful and functional design is invaluable. This year, Linda was vital to the realization of our goral to modernize the ITEA Journal into an online, searchable and interactive experience. Linda’s design expertise made our new Journal visually appealing and easy to use. Linda also helps us communicate our message in a clear and impactful way with the re-design and re-branding of our website. As an integral part of our team, it gives me great pleasure to present the President’s award to Linda A. Rapp.
2023 President’s Award
Bob Shinn of DublinBlue
Over the past few years, Bob has been ITEA’s information and search engine optimization specialist providing his wisdom and expertise as we migrated from an outdated platform to a format that is embedded with data analytic tools and contemporary programming. This year, Bob was vital to the realization of our goral to modernize the ITEA Journal into an online, searchable and interactive experience. Bob’s website design and programming expertise made our new Journal intuitive, easy to use and increased the value of the Journal to the T&E community. His dedication to providing continuous improvements is admirable. Always willing to help with any technical area, Bob consistently has fresh ideas and solves any problem thrown his way. As an integral part of our team, it gives me great pleasure to present the President’s award to Bob Shinn.
For more information or if you have any questions concerning the ITEA Awards, please contact:
Dr Robin Poston, Awards Committee Chair
Email: awards@itea.org, Phone: (703) 631-6220