Charles H. Gaylord, Jacob M. Kwasnik, and Gary Weissel were honored for their contributions to aerospace engineering.
A trio of Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering (AE) alumni were honored at the 2025 College of Engineering Alumni Awards Induction Ceremony, held on March 8. This year's AE honorees included Charles H. Gaylord, Jr. AE 1967, M.S. AE 1969 (Engineering Hall of Fame), Jacob M. Kwasnik, AE 2008 (Council Of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni), and Gary Weissel, AE 1993 (Academy Of Distinguished Engineering Alumni). Each year, the College of Engineering recognizes select graduates who have contributed to the profession, advanced in their careers, and enhanced the lives of others both personally and professionally. Committees from each of the College’s eight schools review and submit the alumni for selection.
This year's student speaker included current AE undergraduate student and Dean's Scholar Leslie Nava. The Fort Worth, Texas native is passionate about inspiring youth in STEM and aspires to become an influential engineer, entrepreneur, and astronaut. She serves on the board of directors for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) at Georgia Tech, where she leverages her photography and graphic design skills to create engaging content for the SHPE community. She also participates in the Yellow Jacket Space Program, assisting the Avionics team in soldering and assembling printed circuit boards. As a first-generation college student and student pilot, She is committed to breaking barriers and representing underrepresented students in STEM.
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Charles H. Gaylord, Jr. AE 1967, M.S. AE 1969
Retired CEO, ChipSoft (merged with Intuit) Retired Executive Vice President, Intuit
Engineering Hall of Fame
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After graduating from Georgia Tech, Charlie attended the Harvard Business School and earned his MBA. He started his career with a small petroleum company as an assistant to the president. Over 17 years, he would become president of the U.S. holding company as well as executive vice president and member of the senior management committee of the international group. As ChipSoft’s CEO, Charlie led the company’s initial and secondary public offerings. ChipSoft developed the popular TurboTax software, and Charlie was the strategic force behind ChipSoft’s merger with Intuit. After retiring from Intuit, Charlie invested in developing software companies, served as a mentor to management teams, particularly young CEOs, and served on several public and private boards, such as Cardiff, Forte, HNC, Itron, Maxis, Resumix, Retek, Silicon Energy, Stac, and Stellcom. Charlie has been married for 59 years, and has two children and four grandchildren. He is an avid hiker and lives in Del Mar, California.
Jacob M. Kwasnik AE 2008
Vice President of Engineering Boeing
Council Of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni
Jake began his career as an aerodynamics engineer at Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle. His career has been guided by three core passions: developing airplanes, solving complex problems, and leading people. These principles have shaped his diverse assignments in both engineering and leadership roles across multiple commercial and military airplane programs. In his current role, Jake leads a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for program engineering of critical military platforms, including the P-8, KC-46, E-7, VC-25B, B-52, and Executive Transport aircraft. He is responsible for ensuring product integrity, safety, and technical excellence while driving program execution and timely product delivery. Outside of work, Jake is passionate about promoting STEM education and developing future leaders through mentoring and championing leadership development. He serves on the AE School Advisory Council.
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Gary Weissel AE 1993 Managing Officer Tronos Aviation Consulting, Inc.
Academy Of Distinguished Engineering Alumni
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Gary started Tronos Aviation Consulting, Inc. in 2014 and provides a wide variety of consulting services to the air transport industry, advising operators, leasing and finance companies, manufacturers, and governments on aviation-related challenges. Before Tronos, he spent 14 years at ICF SH&E in various senior leadership roles. Gary has also held program management, engineering, and interiors positions at B/E Aerospace and Delta Air Lines. He was a key member of the congressionally mandated study on the feasibility of in-cabin wheelchair restraint systems and recently was coauthor of a paper by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute on “Evaluating Wheelchairs for Potential Use as Aircraft Seating.” He is regularly cited in the aviation press, speaks at industry conferences, and has appeared on CNN and NBC as an aviation expert. Gary is the current chair of the AE School Advisory Council, an AE mentor in residence, and a member of the College’s External Advisory Board.