The Wichita Aero Club this week named John Tomblin the recipient of its 2023 trophy. Tomblin is senior v-p for industry and defense programs at Wichita State University (WSU) and executive director of the school’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). He will receive the trophy at the club’s gala in January.
“The Wichita Aero Club continues to build upon the tradition we began in 2010 by selecting a deserving candidate with solid ties to the Wichita and Kansas aviation community,” said Ashley Bowen Cook, aero club board chair and trophy committee chair. “Dr. Tomblin not only has exemplary achievements in this past year but has consistently raised the bar for our aerospace community for many years in his role at WSU and NIAR. We are excited to celebrate his many contributions.”
He is credited with growing WSU’s aerospace research and development portfolio from $20 million in 2004 to more than $190 million. His other achievements include establishing and growing the Digital Twin Program at NIAR—leading to sustainment support and life extension for aircraft such as the F-18 Hornet, B-1 Lancer, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, and F-16 Viper—as well as the development and growth of the NIAR Werx MRO program, which last year began its first passenger-to-freighter conversion of a Boeing 777.