Ruth Davis, Former Board Chair, Honored

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (12/18/00) -- Dr. Ruth Davis was presented with the Jimmy Doolittle Fellowship Award for contributions to national defense, aeronautics, and the advancement of America's space endeavors when she stepped down as chair of The Aerospace Corporation's board of trustees on Dec. 7.

She was honored at a dinner in Santa Monica, Calif., held to honor her for serving more than 17 years on the company's board and making innumerable contributions to the corporation and to the nation.

The award, named for James H. Doolittle, retired Air Force general and aviation pioneer who served on the board from 1963 to 1969, and who died in 1993, was presented by Chief Executive Officer Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr.

"This award recognizes your career-long dedication to the nation's defense, to aeronautics and to the advancement of the American space program," said Aldridge.

The Doolittle award was established by The Aerospace Education Foundation of Arlington, Va., an affiliate of the Air Force Association, as a tribute to Doolittle's lifelong service to the nation.

Thirteen leaders from The Aerospace Corporation, in addition to Davis, have received the award. Commemorative plaques bearing their names are on display in the lobby of a building Aerospace named for Doolittle.

Aerospace recently established the Dr. Ruth Davis Fellowship Fund in Mathematics and Physics at the University of Maryland. Davis earned both her master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the university.

At the dinner, held at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying, Aldridge read a letter from the university president, which praised Davis for her distinguished career, professional success, and support of university efforts, and announced that the university was contributing to the fellowship in her name.

Davis was also presented with a plaque from Lt. Gen. Eugene L. Tattini, commander of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), recognizing her service "to our nation and the Air Force" and thanking her for "providing SMC with an engineering staff that is...indispensable to the success of the center's mission...."

Davis first joined the board in 1982, serving three consecutive three-year terms. Because no member may serve more than three consecutive terms, Davis left the board for one year. She was reelected to the board in 1992 and selected chair by her colleagues.

Davis is president and chief executive officer of The Pymatuning Group, Inc., Alexandria, Va., which specializes in technology management.

She is the recipient of numerous honors, awards and commendations, including the Ada Augusta Lovelace Award for Computer Science and the Department of Energy's Distinguished Service Medal. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.