By Michael Watkins

Whether or not he truly believes it, Norman Ovens was in many ways destined to have a career in avionics.

As a young man living in Great Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, Ovens often found himself outside of Manchester Airport watching airplanes take off and land.

After secondary school, the 16-year-old native of Manchester, England, began working for British Aerospace – now part of BAE Systems – where he served an engineering apprenticeship while he continued his education in engineering and drafting.

"Quite frankly, it never dawned on me that I'd ever work in aviation," said Ovens, a principal systems engineer at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "I needed a job after I left school and I was always strong with numbers and formulas, so engineering made sense. Learning on the job was exactly what I needed, because initially I didn't want to go to school again."

Photo by Paul Marlow, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Engineer of the Year — Norman Ovens was honored as the 2007 Corporate Engineer of the Year for Commercial Systems because of his work as the chief systems architect responsible for designing, developing and certifying our Pro Line Fusion Integrated Modular Avionics system. He is a native of Manchester, England.

Innovative thinking

These days, Ovens is making a name for himself because of the innovative work he's doing as the chief systems architect responsible for designing, developing and certifying our Pro Line Fusion Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) system.

His concept of taking a large number of products from different areas of our company, integrating them into a new system, and packaging them in a way that met the needs and price points of customers such as Bombardier and Mitsubishi, proved efficient, functional and profitable. It also set a precedent Ovens believes will dictate the method of avionics sales for the next two decades.

"Because I'm a systems engineer, I know a little bit about everything, so it made sense to create a new system that grouped different capabilities into a functional, scalable package for multiple missions," said Ovens, who was honored recently as one of three Rockwell Collins Corporate Engineers of the Year. "The packaging encourages more systems sales and should continue for many years."

According to Senior Engineering Manager Martin Harris, who nominated Ovens for the corporate award, it was his ability to think outside of the box that set him apart.

"Norm has defined and championed a development process that has enabled systems and subsystems across our engineering organization to work together," said Harris. "He exhibits a passion to win and understands people and what drives them, such that he is able to motivate individuals in the development teams."

Steve Nieuwsma, vice president of Commercial Systems Engineering at Rockwell Collins, echoes Harris' remarks and also applauds Ovens' efforts.

"Norm has been unrelenting in his efforts to develop industry-leading functionality at a highly competitive price," said Nieuwsma. "He routinely uses metrics to drive behaviors to ensure the key system and business parameters are satisfied. He is a true asset to Rockwell Collins."

While Ovens is honored to have received one of our company's highest engineering honors, he admits that he struggled a bit with handling the recognition because so many of his peers played such an important role in his success.

"Winning the Pro Line Fusion contract, building the new system and motivating people to get the work done was not easy," said Ovens, who joined our company 13 years ago. "But when you get an award like this one and you are recognized by your peers, who played such an important role in your success, you feel better about all of the hard work that went into making it a reality."