James A. “Mickey” Blackwell retired in February 2000 as Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Corporation, where he had corporate oversight of the aeronautics business. Previously, he was president of Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company in Marietta, Georgia; chief engineer of special projects; vice president of engineering; and vice president of the F-22 fighter program.

Mr. Blackwell received a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Alabama in 1962 and a Master’s in the same discipline in 1966 from the University of Virginia. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1986 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Mercer University in 1994. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He was named AIAA Region II Engineer of the Year in 1992. Blackwell was selected as the 1999 Reed Aeronautics Award winner, the highest award an individual can receive for achievements in the field of aeronautical science and engineering. He was named 150th Anniversary Distinguished Engineering Fellow by the University of Alabama’s College of Engineering in 1988, and was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 1995.