Liao earns Test Engineer of the Year honors

Photo By Kimberly Brown | Cmdr. Jason Saglimbene, left, and Dan Toland, right, present Tina Liao with the VX-30 and Weapons and Warfare Systems Test Department's 2021 Test Engineer of the Year Award. (U.S. Navy photo by Kimberly Brown)  

POINT MUGU NAWC, CA, UNITED STATES

03.04.2022

Story by Kimberly Brown    

Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division

Tina Liao, E-2D Integrated Warfare Test lead, earned the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 30 and Weapons and Warfare Systems Test Department’s 2021 Test Engineer of the Year Award, presented in a ceremony in Point Mugu, California.

Liao, a Rockville, Maryland native, earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. She said that she chose those fields of study and to come work at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division because she has the opportunity to make a difference.

“With engineering and the test and evaluation work we do at NAWCWD, we can strive toward making things better,” she said. “It’s a big bonus that the ‘thing’ happens to be an awesome military aircraft.”

Arkapol Nantasenamat, Liao’s division head, nominated her for the award, noting that she is a good mentor and “strategic vision leader” who knows what needs to be done and gets it done right.

“She has been an integral part in the establishment of the E-2D Integrated Warfare Test Team,” Nantasenamat wrote. He further credited Liao’s management and leadership with the fact that her team executed more flight hours per platform than their east coast counterparts despite having a much smaller team with less engineering support.

Liao noted that working with the E-2D is rewarding, in part because it’s exciting.

“Technology advancement is the exciting part of flight test,” she said. “We are working toward a more integrated Air Wing with extended battlespace awareness that can better inform decisions. The E-2D is at the center of that mission.” She added that having the E-2D at VX-30 is ideal due to the squadron’s experience, and proximity to other air, sea, and land platforms.

“This fosters earlier integration, identification of deficiencies, and ultimately leads to a better end product across the fleet,” Liao said.
She said that although the award has her name on it, it’s really more of a team award.

“I’m honored to receive the award, but it is truly a reflection of how amazing our small E-2D Test Team is at NAWCWD. I’m very proud of what we have accomplished this past year.”

• Date Taken: 03.04.2022
• Date Posted: 03.22.2022 17:33
• Story ID: 416960
• Location: POINT MUGU NAWC, CA, US
• Hometown: ROCKVILLE, MD, US