Robert L. Lichten Award Competition
The VFS Arizona Chapter is pleased to announce the Robert L. Lichten Award Competition.
Hosted by the main VFS organization, this is a technical white paper opportunity that encourages VFS members to partake in technical knowledge sharing through writing and presenting technical papers.
The call for white papers are for VFS Members who:
- Have new un-published technical material
- Has not presented at any technical association
- Is the principal author of the technical material
The award is based on the author’s personal contribution, originality of work, technical content, relevance of the contribution, writing organization and clarity.
The competition has 3 phases: the AZ VFS local competition, the VFS Western US Regional Competition, and the National VFS Competition.
The National winner (who wins both the AZ VFS and Western Regional competitions) will receive a monetary honorarium and complimentary travel support/entry to the next VFS Annual Forum and Technology Display conference to present their technical paper and receive their award in ceremony.
Next VFS Forum:
Forum 83 – Annual Forum and Technology Display
May 11, 2027 – May 13, 2027 (Phoenix, Arizona USA)
If you are interested in competing for the Lichten Award Competition, please do the following:
- Download and review the competition rules here
- Download, review, and sign the Eligibility Statement here
- Send an email to lichten@vfsaz.org and providing the title of your presentation, a brief abstract, a short author biography, and the signed Eligibility Statement.
You will then receive more information on how to prepare your presentation/technical white paper.
Note: Please allow ample time for attaining approvals and permissions regarding the sharing of intellectual property by your company or school!
| Phase | Submission Deadline |
| AZ VFS Competition | September – October (presentation only) |
| VFS Western US Regional Competition | November – Early December (presentation only) |
| National VFS Competition | February 28, 2027 (technical white paper only) |
Competition Details
All VFS members who have not previously presented a paper at a national meeting of the VFS or any other technical society are eligible. Co-authors who did not formally present their paper(s) are also eligible. Any non-member who wishes to participate may join the VFS to become eligible.
All presentations must be developed by the primary author (submitter) and may deal with any aspect of rotorcraft operations, manufacturing, engineering, test, or support. They should be no longer than 20 minutes. The winner of the Arizona Chapter competition will present their paper and participate in the Western Region competition in the following January. No written paper is required for the local and regional competitions.
The winner of the Western Region competition will be asked to prepare a written paper, which will be submitted to the National VFS Lichten Competition. From those regional papers submitted, the winning author will be chosen and invited to attend the next VFS Annual Forum and Technology Display to present their paper.
Visit https://vtol.org/get-involved/contests-and-awards/vertical-flight-society-awards/vertical-flight-society-award-recipients?awardID=15 for additional information.
Learn more about Robert L. Lichten here: https://vertipedia.vtol.org/biographies/getBiography/biographyID/36
| Year | Name | Affiliation | Technical Presentation | Local Competition | Western US Regional Competition | National Competition |
| 2024 | Joshua Robbins | The Boeing Company | “Development of a Lightweight, Crash-Tolerant Fuel Bladder” | Winner | Winner | Finalist |