Rocket Man
Engineer Walter Bylciw's standout experience as a leader was heading Pratt & Whitney's bid in the 1980s to supply the engine for the F/A-22, the most advanced tactical fighter the U.S. has.
WALTER BYLCIW
President / Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion and Russian Operations
West Palm BeachDiversions: Golf (handicap in the "high teens") and tennis.Quote: "I enjoy what I do. Life is pretty good right now."Education: Master's in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; bachelor's, mechanical engineering, Cooper Union.Honors: Three Laurel Awards in aeronautics and propulsion from Aviation Week & Space Technology.Memorable date: Pratt's team won the F/A-22 competition on April 23, 1991. As it happens, that's Bylciw's wedding anniversary.He worked non-stop for four years on the project. The night before the winner was announced, Bylciw (pronounced bill-shoe) went to bed knowing that no one could match the entry of the team Pratt was on -- and then spent the next day chasing "what-if" doubts from his mind. Pratt won, and Bylciw still gets choked up recounting it. "That was an experience and a half. That was the Florida team that did that," Bylciw says.
In 2000, Pratt moved the team and its 3,000-person gas turbine business to Connecticut. Bylciw went with it but then returned in October to West Palm to lead the space propulsion business. His responsibilities include the 900 workers in Pratt's liquid-fueled rocket engine business, hypersonics and its marketing partnership with a Russian rocket maker. He's also in charge of the 700-person solid-fuel rocket engine business in San Jose, Calif.
A Canadian native raised in New York, Bylciw was so good at math and science that he skipped a grade in elementary school and attended prestigious public school Brooklyn Technical.
His arrival in West Palm comes amid little growth in space spending. But he's encouraged. In January, the West Palm business won a contract to test-fly its new scramjet engine capable of hypersonic flight of Mach 5 to Mach 7. (Today's fighters move at Mach 2.)
Also in January, President Bush articulated his vision for the moon and Mars. "That's an exciting future, and Pratt here is going to be a part of that," Bylciw says. "This is world-class technology and a world-class workforce."
University of Florida
To Infinity and Beyond
CORIN SEGAL
Associate professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering department / University of Florida
GainesvilleWow job: Executive director of the Institute for Future Space Transport. The UF-led institute's aim is to lower the cost-to-orbit and increase safety. Created by a $15-million NASA grant, it's made up of researchers at seven universities.Bio: Romanian-born, Segal earned his bachelor's and master's in Bucharest, worked in industry for Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. and received his doctorate from the University of Virginia. He came to UF in 1991. He's 52.A grownup interest: "I know people who were building model rockets and airplanes (as a child). I wasn't one of them."Specialty: Combustion and propulsion -- finding a cheaper way to reach orbit with shorter turnarounds, using a supersonic, combustible ramjet.How long before people fly with it: Probably never. At speeds in excess of Mach 6, "the acceleration is something humans can't take." It would be for interceptor missiles and launches.Human space flight: "My personal opinion is we can do a lot with robots. There is probably a lot we can't do -- we can't have a dogfight in a plane without humans. I don't think it would be as efficient."Eureka moment: Research for industry that he can't discuss.Other institute object: Interest and groom more people for careers at NASA. Fifty graduate students are involved.Prediction: "We all think the future looks great. The best thing is going to come in a few years."Favorite sci-fi movie: None. "I'm a plain, down-to-earth" engineer.How long before humans travel to Mars: "Any guess would be good."
Aerospace Integration Corp.
"Special" Effects
In the Afghan war, as the U.S. military's C130 gunships flew low and slow to search out the enemy, they were vulnerable to shoulder-fired missiles. The government turned to Aerospace Integration Corp., a custom problem-solving firm in Fort Walton Beach. AIC devised a system that allowed unmanned aircraft to acquire targets in the hot zones and link video of them to the gunships. The gunships then swooped in to blast the enemy without spending time to acquire targets themselves.
GEORGE GONZALEZ
President, CEO / Aerospace Integration Corp.
Fort Walton BeachFamily: Wife, Michelle, a dentist; children Marvin, 7, and Angie, 5, adopted last year from Guatemala.Pastimes: Fishing, boating.If someone gave him $10 million: He would spend it on beefing up his company's infrastructure.It was good for the military and good for AIC, which has increased revenue an average of 300% annually since George Gonzalez founded it in 1997.
A New Jersey native who married his high school sweetheart, Gonzalez, 37, has no college degree. He spent four years as an Army enlisted man and came to see a need for a nimble contractor that could meet Special Ops' "time and intensity" needs. Gonzalez says 98% of his company's work is for Special Ops, integrating systems such as weapons, communications, fire control and navigation. All but a few of the company's 210 employees are Special Ops veterans. "We've flown the missions. We understand the operational tempo," he says.
AIC's growth has brought attention. Gonzalez won a Governor's Business Leadership Award in 2001, has a board seat on the Florida Space Authority and was the U.S. Small Business Person of the Year for Florida last year.
In late 2002, AIC opened a hangar complex in Crestview near the Air Force's Special Ops base at Hurlburt Field to modify aircraft. Gonzalez expects company revenue this year to reach $65 million, up from $35 million last year. "Every aspect of the company has been designed to respond to the special needs of the special operator," he says. "We are a very, very focused company."