Tim Pavish, WSU Alumni Assoc., presents award to Iris Fujiura Bombelyn.
PULLMAN, Wash. — Iris Fujiura Bombelyn, vice president of Manufacturing at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, was honored Oct. 18 with the Washington State University Alumni Association (WSUAA) Alumni Achievement Award.
Bombelyn was recognized for her distinguished leadership in global business and her outstanding accomplishments in the aerospace industry.
Bombelyn earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering from WSU in 1983. She began her career the same year in aerospace as an instrumentation engineer at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. In 1989, she became payload operations launch conductor, and later progressed through increasingly responsible positions in the aerospace industry, including launch operations manager at International Launch Services, Inc., and program director at Orbital Sciences Corporation.
In 2009, Bombelyn earned an MBA in leadership and global innovation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellows program before returning to Lockheed Martin as director of test systems.
She is currently program manager for the Mobile User Objective System program, which is responsible for the design, building, and delivery of five satellites and four ground stations to provide secure communications for mobile users around the world.
Most recently, she led the Space Systems Company manufacturing team, providing complex manufacturing of unique items for space and suborbital applications, working to promote lean and defect-free manufacturing and supporting advanced manufacturing for new product offerings.
Bombelyn is active in several roles outside of work, receiving the 2010 Silicon Valley YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry Award. She was named the 2012 Asian American Executive of the Year by the Chinese Institute of Engineers. She speaks Russian and Japanese, holds a black belt in ju-jitsu, and mentors engineering students through MentorNet.
The Alumni Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the WSUAA. Since 1970 502WSU alumni have received the Alumni Achievement Award.