Michael Heil, Colonel, USAF (Retired), died on 8 February.
Heil graduated with a degree in engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy (1975) before earning a master’s degree in flight structures from Columbia University on a Guggenheim Fellowship (1976), and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) (1986). He retired from Air Force active duty in 2005 at the rank of Colonel after serving as Director of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate with responsibilities for propulsion and power research at Wright-Patterson and Edwards Air Force Bases. He served as Commander, Phillips Laboratory; Commander, Arnold Engineering Development Center; and Commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology. He served in two Air Force acquisition centers, four defense laboratories, a test center, a major command staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the faculties of the Air Force Academy and AFIT.
Following his retirement from the Air Force, Heil served as President and CEO of the Ohio Aerospace Institute from 2007 to 2016. After retiring, he ran M.L. Heil Consulting as an independent aerospace and defense consultant.
Elected a Fellow of AIAA in 2010 for his lifelong contributions to the aerospace profession, Heil was an integral part of the aerospace community at the local and national levels and he was a very active member of the Northern Ohio Section. He spent time as the Northern Ohio Section Public Policy Officer where he won the first place Public Policy Section Award in 2022, 2023, 2024. He also volunteered his time to serve in numerous important leadership roles that included President of the Cleveland Engineering Society (CES), Board Chair of the National Aviation Heritage Area, Member of the Ohio Aerospace & Aviation Technology Committee, and Member of the AFIT Board of Visitors.
