NATO Chief Scientist to receive prestigious engineering manager award

NATO Chief Scientist Major General Albert Husniaux will be receiving ASEM’s Engineering Manager of the Year award for his significant contributions to the advancement of engineering management. The award recognizes a successful senior manager and engineer with outstanding character and ethical values for his or her contributions to the profession, local community and/or society.

Major General Husniaux is grateful to be recognized with this award and would like to share this honour with his colleagues. “This award honours all the fine men and women I enjoyed working with during my engineering management career. The officers, NCOs, privates/corporals, who inspired and motivated me in my aim to provide our crews with top notch airplanes so they were in the best conditions to flawlessly conduct their mission and come home safely.  The scientists, engineers, managers and senior leaders of NATO’s Science and Technology community are instrumental in shaping our future, and are always developing cutting edge S&T to ensure our armed forces remain the best equipped.  ”

Major General Husniaux is the first NATO Chief Scientist, a position he has held since 2012. He is also the Chairman of NATO’s Science and Technology Board. Prior to these roles, Major General Husniaux was the last Director of NATO’s Research & Technology Agency from 2009 to 2012. In these capacities, Major General Husniaux demonstrated outstanding change leadership in the creation of the NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) as part of the critical implementation phase of NATO’s reform agenda. His efforts ensured that the newly created STO effectively and efficiently integrated its two antecedent organizations, while adopting enlarged governance responsibilities across NATO Science & Technology. The STO is now NATO’s premier forum for Science and Technology co-operation among its Member Nations, comprising a network of more than 4500 Scientists and the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation. Major General Husniaux’s efforts have been critical in ensuring that the STO is well positioned to continue delivering its Programme of Work.

Major General Husniaux’s career has spanned a  wide array of domains: integrated management and technical-logistic support of training aircraft, transport aircraft, combat aircraft, helicopters, weaponry, and rocket launchers (Ariane); teaching and education; strategic affairs and human resources. He has served in both national and multinational frameworks in operational units, staff and industry, support and operations of training aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters and combat aircraft of the Belgian Air component.

Major General Husniaux holds a Master of Science in Engineering, with specializations in Mechanics, Ballistics, Aeronautics and Astronautics. He has the honour of being a member of the Technology and Science Class of the Académie Royale des Sciences, Lettres et Beaux-Arts de la Belgique.