Fascinated with flying; energized by engineering

Steve Robbins realized his passion for flying and engineering at an early age. Today, this Bristol, England, native is our 2006 Corporate Engineer of the Year for Government Systems.

By Kathy Hogan

When Steve Robbins isn't busy rock climbing, snowboarding or designing the new patio and deck for the northern California home he shares with his wife, Sue, he's off paragliding — sometimes as high as 6,000 feet and for as long as two hours.

"It's like a big parachute that enables you to fly," said Robbins, who followed in his father's footsteps and became an engineer. "I think engineering and flying are in my blood. My father was my friend and mentor, and the main reason I chose this particular career path."

A native of Bristol, England, Robbins' father was actively involved in cockpit development for the BAC Concorde. He also helped design other aircraft such as the Avro Vulcan Bomber, the Vicker VC-10, and the English Electric Lighting, which made quite an impression on his son.

"There was something fascinating about airplanes, physics and engineering," said Robbins. "I knew I wanted to have an impact on the cockpit displays that were being used in various aircraft — just the way my father did."

It made sense then when Robbins decided to pursue a degree in physics from the University of Exeter in England. And for the past 21 years, he has been an aerospace engineer. He's been involved in optics technology since 1988, and has designed head-up displays (HUD) and helmet-mounted displays (HMD) since then.

Prior to joining Rockwell Collins in July of 2001, he worked for GEC-Marconi Avionics (now part of BAE Systems), and later became an engineering manager for the Cockpit and Human Factors Research and Development Team at BAE Systems in the United Kingdom.

"During that time, I managed the integration of helmet-mounted displays onto the Hawk 200 aircraft and carried out flight and simulation trials to investigate the operational effectiveness of HMDs," he said.

The work he performed on past HMDs prepared Robbins for his current role today as a principal optics engineer for the Rockwell Collins display systems business in San Jose, Calif. He now spends his days working on our HMD product line.

"This is a display that fits on the pilot's head so he can view the display wherever he is looking," explained Robbins. "It allows the pilot to point missiles at targets and allows the aircraft system to cue the pilot to planned and sensor-detected targets.

"The latest displays, including the Rotationally Symmetric Visor (RSV) HMD, will allow the pilot to see in the dark," he continued.

In fact, it was Robbins' significant contributions to our HMD product line for which he was recently honored as the 2006 Corporate Engineer of the Year for Government Systems.

"I am extremely honored to have been selected for this prestigious award," said Robbins. "Simply being nominated was recognition enough, so actually receiving the award is phenomenal. I am very excited."