Alumna Patricia “Patti” Martin elected to Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame

Patricia “Patti” Martin, an alumna of The University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH), has been selected to the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame (AEHOF). Martin graduated from The University of Alabama in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. In 1998, she earned a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from UAH, a part of the University of Alabama System.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Patti Martin as our alumna,” says AEHOF Board Member and UAH Dean of Engineering, Dr. Shankar Mahalingam. “Her induction into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame is a matter of great pride for us at UAH. She is a source of inspiration to our current and future engineering students, our faculty and our staff.”

Martin has spent her career serving the United States whether as a civilian engineer in the U.S. Army or in private industry supporting defense and aerospace missions. The alumna is known for her leadership and expertise in the fields of systems and specialty engineering, as well as rapid response prototyping.

Martin previously served on boards for the UA Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, the UAH Industrial and Systems Engineering Department and the University of Puerto Rico. Among her numerous honors are the Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious); Office of the Secretary of Defense Civilian Service Award; UA Chemical and Biological Engineering Centennial Fellow; UAH Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award and a UA Distinguished Engineering Fellow.

The inductee began her civilian service in 1983 at the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), working in missile simulation and later in production engineering. She progressed from engineering to management and, in 2000, was named the chief of production engineering responsible for conducting life cycle production engineering, systems engineering and acquisition management for aviation, missile and unmanned systems.

In 2002, Martin was selected as the first program manager for the Prototype Integration Facility, a unique government-owned, government-operated capability with a mission to rapidly develop and deliver technical solutions that met critical Army requirements. In this capacity, she established project-specific government and industry teams that delivered high-quality products in days or months versus the years typically required. Under her leadership, more than 1,000 PIF products were delivered in support of theater operations.

Martin joined the ranks of the senior executive service in 2006 as the AMRDEC’s director of the Engineering Directorate. There she led a 900-person organization comprised of functional expertise in systems engineering, quality, manufacturing technology, production engineering, reliability, industrial base, obsolescence, PIF, test and logistics engineering. In this position, she managed an annual business portfolio worth more than $900 million.

After retiring from the Army, in 2015 Martin founded her own consulting company, Martin Strategic Solutions, Inc., which provided strategic management and technical products to defense agencies and industry partners. After concluding work with her own consulting company, the alumna worked as a senior systems analyst for System Studies and Simulation from 2020-2022 before joining TriVector, where she is currently a subject matter expert, providing technical solutions to engineering challenges in space exploration, earth science, energy initiatives and national defense.

Kristina Hendrix
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