Award from Hughes’ Malcolm Currie Honors Engineering Skill

Palm Coast, Florida-based Leroy Stotelmyer works in special operations serving the United States Department of Defense as it handles aviation equipment and technology transfers worldwide, involving a number of emerging markets. His previous career in the aerospace industry includes work as chief test pilot at Edwards Air Force Based and as a project engineer and spacecraft manager for Hughes Aircraft Company. Leroy Stotelmyer is the recipient of a Hughes Chairman’s award, an award for accomplishment in engineering sponsored by then-Hughes CEO Malcolm Currie, renowned for his innovations in the field of engineering.

Currie served as Hughes CEO from 1986 to 1992. Born in 1927, Currie attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied engineering and physics. He served as a member of the United States Navy during and just after World War II, then finished his doctoral degree.

He became part of the research team at Hughes in the mid-1950s, moving through the executive ranks to become vice president in the 1960s. In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon appointed Currie director of Defense Research and Engineering at the Department of Defense. After the inauguration of President Jimmy Carter, Currie returned to Hughes.

Currie’s notable accomplishments at Hughes include shepherding through the development of the AMRAAM combat missile, as well as his move to diversify the company into satellite broadcast and communications applications, which eventually led to a dominant position in the global market.

Among his philanthropic contributions, Currie donated $10 million in 2015 to fund an endowment at the Keck School of Medicine and construct a new bioscience center at the University of Southern California, where he continues to serve as a Life Trustee.