LIFT Announces Inaugural LIFT Insight Awards to Recognize Member Contributions

Awards recognize members’ contributions in technology, talent, service providing and overall contributions.

LIFT, the Department of Defense-supported manufacturing innovation institute, today announced the inaugural LIFT Insight Awards to recognize member contributions to the institute and its ecosystem over the past year in Technology Development, Talent Development, Service Providing, Government Stakeholder and to contribution to LIFT overall.

The awards we determined through a nomination and voting process among the LIFT staff who work with the institute’s member on a daily basis.

“We are blessed with an amazing group of members who are committed to LIFT and our mission of Driving American Manufacturing Into the Future Through Technology and Talent Development and these awards highlight but a few of the individuals who have helped set us on the path to achieve that goal,” said Nigel Francis, CEO & Executive Director, LIFT. “It is an understatement to say the past year has been challenging, but what cannot be overstated is how critical these members – and all of our members – have been to LIFT, allowing us to keep moving forward despite of the difficulties we all faced.”

The 2021 LIFT Insight Award winners are:

The Vanguard Award: Harris Ng, Kearney

Awarded to the member who has made the most significant impact on the institute, Harris led his team at Kearney to help LIFT better define its going forward value proposition, including the “LIFT Advantage” which has helped the institute better communicate the benefit it, and its members, provide to the U.S. manufacturing innovation ecosystem.

The Visionary Award: Bill Tredway, United Technologies/Raytheon

Awarded to the member who has made a significant impact on the LIFT – Leading Innovations For Tomorrow technology program, Bill has led the direction of the technology program in multiple ways, from leading and participating in a number of projects to serving as the chair of the LIFT Technology Development Committee.

The Brilliance Award: Paul Perkins, Amatrol

Awarded to the member who has made a significant impact on the LIFT – Learning Innovations For Tomorrow talent program, Paul and Amatrol have been long time partners of LIFT and have helped develop and deploy key talent initiatives including Operation Next, LIFT’s INIGITE: Mastering Manufacturing curriculum, as well as equipping the LIFT Learning Lab with hands-on and virtual learning modules for students.

The Pathfinder Award: Seann Moreno, Data Tech Café

Awarded to the member who has made a significant impact as a service provider, Seann and his team at Data Tech Café have been critical members of LIFT as the LIFT staff was forced to work from locations across Michigan and across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through Seann’s leadership, the LIFT team’s IT and communications infrastructure remained active and online, allowing the team to continue meeting and working virtually without missing a beat.

The Steadfast Award: Johnnie Deloach, Office of Naval Research

Awarded to the member who has made a significant impact as government stakeholder, Johnnie has been the LIFT program manager since the institute’s founding in 2014. For the last seven years, Johnnie has played an integral role in supporting the institute on behalf of the federal government and leading it to the nationally known organization it is today.