C. Scott Nordahl '94, '97, Senior Principal Engineer, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems will receive the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Award for Technical Excellence at the 2012 AISES National Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.

C. Scott Nordahl was born to an Alaska Native mother and adopted by non-native parents at two weeks of age. He experienced a transient upbringing, having moved 14 times by the time he was 19 years old. At the University of Washington, Scott had the opportunity to reconnect with his native heritage through the Minority Science and Engineering Program (MSEP) and AISES and served as AISES Chapter President during his last two years in college. Through a Minority Engineering Fellowship by GTE, Scott attended Penn State University where he received his Masters and Ph.D. in Ceramic Science. Scott joined Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in 2007 as a Senior Engineer. Shortly after his arrival, Scott became the Technical Lead for Nano Composite Optical Ceramic (NCOC) program. Scott and his team have won several contracts for nanotechnology research and development due to their engineering excellence, and most recently won a follow-on program to develop nanocomposites with application for Long Wave Infra Red (LWIR) systems.

Scott is active in the community as well, having coordinated and supported several Boston Museum of Science events that are targeted at elementary and middle schools to convince youths that engineering and sciences are excellent career choices.