COE Awards

B.J. Fries Award of Merit

This award is conferred annually in memory of our COE volunteer and friend who epitomized an individual from a COE member company, who in the judgment of the Honor Awards Committee, has made valued, balanced contributions to the COE organizations' activities and growth. The Award of Merit is conferred upon an individual - focusing on the person's accomplishments.

2025 Recipient

Brian Clark, Lockheed Martin

Brian Clark has been a driving force in CAD innovation and engineering systems at Lockheed Martin since 1991. Currently serving as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and Co-Architect for CATIA V5, 3DX CAD, and CATIA-CADAM across the Aeronautics Division, he plays a critical role in shaping the future of digital design environments. His work spans system architecture, platform stability, and technology evaluation, ensuring Lockheed’s CAD infrastructure remains cutting-edge and reliable. From leading the transition of CATIA from mainframe to modern platforms, to supporting secure programs and cross-site collaboration, Brian’s technical leadership has been instrumental in advancing Lockheed Martin’s engineering capabilities.

Brian’s dedication to COE spans nearly three decades. Since attending his first COE event in 1996 and presenting in 2002, he has consistently contributed through technical sessions, roundtables, and leadership roles. He served as the Infrastructure and Development PIC Chair and later as the IDDK Domain Manager, helping shape the direction of COE’s technical communities. Currently, he chairs the Configure and Customize Committee within the Develop and Deploy Community, where he continues to share his deep expertise and foster collaboration among users. Brian’s long-standing service to COE reflects his commitment to knowledge sharing, innovation, and the advancement of the global engineering community.

Past Award of Merit Recipients

2022 - Neil Martinuzzi, Lear Automotive; Dave Frank, Dasco Engineering; Bruce Gabel, Spirit AeroSystems; Eric Neuville, Dassault Systemes; Rani Richardson, Dassault Systemes
2019 - Mike Clare, Lee Krueger of Boeing
2018 - Keith Horton, Nordam Group & Shawn Ehrstein, Wichita State University
2017 - Scott Pokriefka, Dassault Systèmes
2016 - Ray Anderson
2015 - Kevin Albers, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company; Tim Suhr, The Boeing Company
2014 - Tom Brown, The Boeing Company; Charles Chen, The Boeing Company; Tom Crume, The Boeing Company
2013 - Roger Joyal, Beechcraft Corporation; Neil Littel, Viking Range; Ed Popko, Dassault Systèmes
2012 - Colleen Kennedy, Oregon Institute of Technology; Brian Prasad, Parker Hannifin Corporation
2011 - Scott Baker, Deepak Manuel, Rich Perlman
2010 - Lee Encapera, Nate Nalven
2009 - Phil Harrison
2008 - Gary Hornyak
2007 - Tim Enns
2006 - Catherine Bell, William "BJ" Fries, Jeff Toelsin
2005 - Mark Van Horne
2004 - Tom Cisler
2003 - Jim Barkelew, Mark Chitjian, Jim Strawn
2002 - James Cleland, Robert Daniels, Didier Gaillard, Carl "Skip" Seibert
2001 - Stephen Lewis, Glen Norman, Sohair VarnHagen
2000 - Gene Duncan, Al Hoyle, Nancy Rothwell
1999 - Dave Brock, Rick Marickovich
1998 - John Freyman, Katie Barrett
1997 - Bill Abramson, Greg Chaney, Joe Red
1996 - Steve Doncov

Bill Abramson College of Fellows Award

Noteworthy achievements and contributions to CAD/CAM/CAE/CAx, specifically as they impact Dassault Systèmes suite of products, deserve special recognition. Such special recognition can be furthered by election to the COE College of Fellows.

As analysis, design and manufacturing pushes forward, old boundaries are overtaken and new perspectives are important for all members in our profession. Thus, this status of leadership establishes a high level of honor and visibility.

In 2015, the award was renamed from the COE College of Fellows Award to the Bill Abramson College of Fellows Award in honor of Bill's long standing contributions and impact on COE.

Two significant benefits of receiving the Bill Abramson College of Fellows Award are:

Free Lifetime COE Event registration
Free Lifetime COE Individual membership

2025 Recipient - Jeff Maestas

With over 36 years in the aerospace and defense industry, Jeff Maestas has built a distinguished career through his work at Lockheed Martin, Bell Helicopter, and as an educator at Tarrant County College. A passionate advocate for engineering education, Jeff played a pivotal role in integrating CATIA V5 into academic programs, developing curriculum that bridged the gap between classroom learning and industry needs. His efforts empowered students to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge tools, preparing them for careers in aerospace design and manufacturing.

Jeff’s contributions to COE have been both foundational and far-reaching. Since attending his first COE conference in 2000, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including Academic PIC co-chair, COE-U co-chair, and currently as COE-U Division Manager. He has been instrumental in shaping COE’s academic and training initiatives, organizing hands-on sessions, securing speakers, and advocating for student access to professional tools like CATIA. Jeff also helped establish the North Texas COE Regional User Group, fostering local collaboration and knowledge sharing. His enduring commitment to COE has strengthened the bridge between academia and industry, leaving a lasting legacy of mentorship, innovation, and community engagement.

Past Award Recipients

2023 Jim Escoe, Procter & Gamble
2019 Philippe Laufer, Dassault Systemes
2017 Bernard Charlès & Phil Harrison
2016 Mike Jahadi, PhD, Lockheed Martin
2015 Bill Abramson
2014 Bob Deragisch, Parker Hannifin
2014 Richard Murrish, The Boeing Company
2013 Edward Ladzinksi, Dassault Systemes
2007 Gunther Schuller, The Boeing Company
2005 Michael Payne, Spatial
2003 Francois Castaing, Chrysler
1999 David Aber, PhD, IBM Corporation
1997 Francis Bernard, Dassault Systèmes
1996 Kenneth Reinschmidt, Prescient Technologies
1996 Gus Olling, Chrysler
1996 Rodney Dreisbach, The Boeing Company

Top Gun

Top Gun is a competition for all engineers and designers to test their skills at designing the most accurate and correctly-structured three dimensional model, in the least amount of time at the COE Annual Conference & TechniFair. The user friendly challenge involves designing a detailed part of a common item that will be revealed when you sign up at the conference.

2024 Award Winners:

1^st Jeremy Sitz (WSU)

2^nd Samuel Eshelman (Stanley Black and Decker)

3^rd Hunter Robertson (WSU)

2022 Award Winners:

(Max time of 45 minutes)

1^st Place – Doug Snell, PCC Aerostructures – Perfect Score – 39 min, 22 sec

2^nd Place – Jeff Gamon, Sierra Nevada – Perfect Score – 42 min, 48 sec

3^rd Place – Jorge Gudino – Lockheed Martin – Perfect Score – 44min, 52 sec

2016 Award Winners

First Place: Steve Roemish, Janicki Industries - Perfect Score
Second Place: Eric Neuville
Third Place: Ben Lucia

Previous Top Gun Winners

2015 - Chris Rempe, Wichita State University
2014 - Samuel Perse, Sharp Tooling Solutions
2013 - Eric Neuville, Pratt & Whitney Canada
2012 - Andrew Kramar, Arnold Engineering
2011 - Josh Jarvis, The Boeing Company
2010 - Kevin Waugh - Lionheart Solutions
2009 (V5) - Daniel Morin, BPR
2008 (V5) - Kevin Morgan, ANXeBuiness Corp.
2007 (V5) - Brian Brown, WichitaState Univesity
2006 (V5) - Nathan Shipley, WichtaState Unversity
2005 (V5) - Roger Joyal, Airbus
Fall 2003 (V4) - Chris Sameck, Freihtliner
Fall 2003 (V5) - DJ Ninagawa, INCS
Spring 2003 (V4) - Changsoo Suh, Hyundai Motors
Spring 2003 (V5) - Janelle Beczak, Cessna Arcraft
Fall 2002 (V4) - Dave Baldwin, Northwest CA Sevies
Fall 2002 (V5) - Ralph Templin, Delphi Autoote
Spring 2002 (V4) - Junya Uramoto, INCS
Spring 2002 (V5) - Jim Strawn, Cessna Aircraft
Fall 2001(V5) - Jang Ju Hyun, Korea Aerospace
Spring 2001 (V4) - Roger Joyal, The Boeing Cmpay
Spring 2001 (V5) - Rick Van Wetten, Siemensanaa
Fall 2000 - Dave Baldwin, Northwest CAD Serce
Fall 2000 - Gary Fisher, Black & Decker
Spring 2000 - Jeff Roark, Johnson Controls
Fall 1999 - Roger Joyal, Boeing MilitaryDiviin
Fall 1999 - Rob Dunn, Bombardier deHaviland
Spring 1999 - Matthew Hillyer, TaylorMahines
Fall 1998 - Jim Strawn, Cessna ircrat
Spring 1998 - Ivan Kaszycki, Ber Ciate Systems, Inc.
Fall 1997 - Todd Doyle, AlliedSgna
Spring 1997 - Andrew Ray, DECS
Fall 1996 - Douglas Vargo, Autoliv

3DDerby: Design. Print. Race.

2019 Winners:

Fastest Car: Dan Galgozy

Coolest Car: Tim Ramos

Past Winners:

2018:

Kyle Haythaler - First Place in Speed

Ryan Hetzer - First Place in Style

Dr. David M. Aber Scholarship Competition

2023 Recipients:

1st Place: Lauren Paulson, Georgia Tech

2nd Place: Yuwei He, Purdue University

2019 Recipients:

Graduate Level:

1st Place: Lance Frazer, University of Kansas

2nd Place: Patrick Walgren, Texas A&M University

Undergrad Level:

1st Place: Atif Saeed, Ryan Tang Dan, Chamathke Perera, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

2nd Place: Shawan Ejaz, The City College of New York
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Past Scholarship Recipients:

2018: Katherine Unfried, Joseph Maini, and Chelsea Swell

Best Annual Conference Presentations

2019 Winners

Product Definition: 3DEXPERIENCE Fasteners App - A Designer Investigation and Perspective

Manufacturing: (MAN) CATIA Composer Automatic Updating - Timothy Foster

Engineering Analysis & Simulation: (EAS) Digital Twin - Its Role and Structure Within a Modern Systems Engineering Approach - Frank Popielas, Edward Ladzinski

Infrastructure, Develop, Deploy & (Knowledge): VR and AR in AEC: MJTA! (More Than Just Acronyms!) - Philippine Graveline, Emil Dobrescu

Infrastructure, (Develop, Deploy) & Knowledge: What's New in 3DEXPERIENCE Knowledge Dictionary - Mike Berry

Information Management: 3DEXPEREINCE Implementation Phase 1: Headaches and Heart Emojis - Rolando Garza

COE University: Hands-On with POWER'BY - Scott Pokriefa, Tyler Stapleton

COE PLM Enterprise of the Year Award

The PLM Enterprise of the Year award acknowledges COE member companies that have achieved significant business results through their organizations' adoption of product lifecycle management. It recognizes successful PLM implementations and serves as a model for fellow COE Members and IBM and Dassault Systèmes customers seeking to increase profitability by expanding their markets centered on new, innovative products, while reducing costs.

Past Enterprise of the Year Winners

2018 - Textron Aviation
2014 - Parker Hannifin Corporation (Small/Medium Enterprise Award)
2013 - Viking Range (Small/Medium Enterpise Award)
2005 - Loewen (Small/Medium Enterprise Award)
2005 - Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (Large Enterprise Award)

Community of Experts Contributor Award

Members of the COE Forum were asked to nominate their favorite Community of Experts Contributor.

2019 Winners:

Eric Neuville

Roman Bolshakov AKA “Little Cthulhu"

Past Community of Experts Contributor Award Recipients

2018: Timothy Suhr
2017: Dave Frank & Jack Knapp
2016: Mike Berry & David Summerscales
2009: Mark Chitjian (Solve Issue Winner)
2009: Phil Barna (Best Overall Contributor)
2008: Dave Frank (Best Overall Contributor)