Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Cadet 1st Class Christopher Shannon (right) receives the 2014 Tomorrow's Leaders Award during the 57th Annual Laureates Awards March 6 in Washington, D.C. Shannon is the Academy Aeronautics Department's top cadet; he holds a 3.98 grade point average and is in the top 1 percent on the 2014 graduating class. (Air Force courtesy photo)140315-F-RB000-001
                        
                        
                        Cadet 1st Class Christopher Shannon (right) receives the 2014 Tomorrow's Leaders Award during the 57th Annual Laureates Awards March 6 in Washington, D.C. Shannon is the Academy Aeronautics Department's top cadet; he holds a 3.98 grade point average and is in the top 1 percent on the 2014 graduating class. (Air Force courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Academy cadet earns national leadership awardPublished March 18, 2014
                    
                    By Amber Baillie
                    
                    
                    U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
            **U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --**The top cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy's Aeronautics Department was recognized for being among the best aerospace graduates in the country last week in the nation's capital.
Cadet 1st Class Christopher Shannon received the 2014 Tomorrow's Leaders Award during the 57th Annual Laureates Awards March 6 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., for his outstanding leadership and NASA research here.
Shannon holds a 3.98 grade point average and is in the top one percent of the 2014 graduating class.
"I was extremely honored to have been selected to receive such a prestigious award," he said. "I feel extremely blessed to have been given so many opportunities to excel, and I'm glad I was able to represent the Academy well at this event."
Shannon was one of four service academy cadets selected for the award by Aviation Week, the largest multimedia information and services provider for the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries. Recipients were honored for their accomplishments in aviation, aerospace and defense.
"The award sheds a little light on what opportunities and capabilities cadets have to succeed," he said. "It shows the leaders of the aerospace industry that our nation is in good hands as we press into the future."
Shannon worked with Dr. Tom Yechout, an Academy Aeronautical Engineering professor, and Cadet 1st Class Josh Hunt, to determine the aerodynamic characteristics of the NASA Maraia Capsule in subsonic flight. 
"We figured out how the capsule would fly during the last phases of re-entry," Shannon said. "The Maraia Capsule is a new autonomous vehicle that will be used by NASA as a sample return vehicle from the International Space Station, as well as a vertical test bed for future space capsules. For the past three semesters we've conducted wind tunnel tests in the aero lab here."
Shannon has also served as president of two engineering honor societies here, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau. Last semester he received the Outstanding Squadron Commander Award for Cadet Squadron 16 and has received accolades as a soaring instructor pilot here.
"One of the wonderful aspects of teaching at the Academy is when I have a cadet who is outstanding academically and is also an incredible person," said Dr. Russ Cummings, professor and department head in the Academy's Aeronautics Department. "Chris Shannon is a great combination of both attributes. He excels in his classes and has shown himself to be an outstanding researcher. He is active in various cadet and community projects, and is on his way to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for graduate school."
The Laureates Awards (produced by Aviation Week) is one of the industry's top events and attracts hundreds of industry pioneers and leaders throughout the world. 
"Aviation Week provides the widest possible platform for honoring a cadet, with industry executives, aerospace workers, military leaders, and others as readers," Cummings said. "This award identifies Chris as among the very best aerospace graduates in the U.S. and provides the Academy with worldwide exposure due to his honor."
Shannon is an aeronautical engineering major here and said he hopes to become a test pilot in the Air Force.
"It's the perfect combination of flying and engineering," Shannon said. "I'd like to be a pilot because I think it's an incredibly exciting opportunity to serve my country and I have a true passion for flying."cadet 



top one percent 



Air Force Academy Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil