Awards Banquet
The Awards Banquet is one of our most popular Engineers Week events! Join us in the TSC ballroom for a gourmet catered dinner, awards ceremony, and a special guest speaker.
- When: Friday, February 21 | 6:00pm–8:00pm
- Where: TSC, Evan N. Stevenson Ballroom
- Tickets $2 Purchase on 1st Floor of ENGR building (near the Atrium)
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Nicholas Alley
Dr. Nicholas Alley earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University in 2006, specializing in aerodynamics and flight mechanics under the mentorship of Dr. Warren Phillips. During his time at USU, he developed software tools for rapid and precise aircraft performance predictions and played a key role in the design and construction of five unmanned aircraft. He also served as chief engineer and advisor for the student-designed USU Wright Flyer, which successfully flew at venues nationwide in celebration of the centennial of flight.
Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Alley joined the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he developed and deployed uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) for nuclear facility security. In 2007, he transitioned to academia as a research faculty member in Georgia Tech’s Aerospace Engineering department. There, he instructed the uncrewed aircraft design course and served as faculty advisor for Georgia Tech’s AIAA design-build-fly teams.
In 2009, Dr. Alley left Georgia Tech to establish Area-I, Inc., an aerospace defense technology firm specializing in uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). Under his leadership, Area-I grew to over 140 employees and secured more than $200 million in government and private contracts. The company became renowned for its ALTIUS (Agile-Launch Tactically Integrated Unmanned System) product line, a family of autonomous, air-launched effects (ALE) that revolutionized military operations. ALTIUS aircraft, including the ALTIUS-600 and ALTIUS-700, provide advanced capabilities such as enemy surveillance, electronic warfare, laser-guided targeting, and loitering munitions. Used extensively by U.S. Special Forces and the armies of the U.S., Ukraine, and Taiwan, ALTIUS has also demonstrated civilian applications—most notably in September 2022, when an ALTIUS-600 outfitted with a meteorological payload collected groundbreaking data from the eye of Hurricane Ian.
In March 2021, Anduril Industries acquired Area-I, and in early 2023, Dr. Alley stepped away from the aerospace industry to take on his most rewarding role yet—working for his wonderful wife, Laura, as a full-time father to their five sons.