First woman receives NATO’s highest science award

​The NATO Science and Technology Board (STB) has awarded the 2024 Von Kármán Medal to Dr rer nat Karin Stein, in recognition of her exceptional scientific contributions to NATO for more than 30 years. Dr Stein is the first woman to receive the Von Kármán Medal, which is NATO's most prestigious science award. The STB also granted the 2024 STO Excellence Awards to Dr -Ing Andreas Schütte for his work on the fields of vortical flow aerodynamics and fighter aircraft aerodynamics, and to an international research group focused on multi-dimensional radar imaging. The award selections were approved on 21 March at the spring 2024 STB meeting held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

The Von Kármán Medal honours individuals for their lifetime dedication to international collaboration on science and technology (S&T) in NATO, and for their contributions to STO activities over an extended period. The STB typically awards one Von Kármán Medal each year. The STO Excellence Awards recognise exceptional accomplishments in STO activities that were conducted and completed within the last four years, and can be granted to both teams and individuals.

As the governing body of the STO, the NATO STB provides strategic guidance on science and technology (S&T) in NATO, provides direction and guidance on the STO Programme of Work, and delivers S&T-based advice to NATO decision-makers. It is chaired by the NATO Chief Scientist, Dr Bryan Wells.

2024 Von Kármán Medal

The recipient of the 2024 Von Kármán Medal, Dr rer nat Karin Stein, currently serves as Head of the Signatorics Department at the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation in Karlsruhe, Germany. A German national, Dr Stein is known for her wide-ranging international scientific contributions, including as a mentor, innovative researcher, and bridge-builder between military end-users and technical experts. In addition to her achievements in Germany, Dr Stein has provided valuable contributions to various STO activities since 1992, including activities carried out under the Systems Concepts and Integration (SCI) and Sensors and Electronics Technology (SET) Panels. She has also demonstrated exemplary leadership in the STO, having served as SCI Panel Chair from 2018-2022. In this capacity, she played an instrumental role in driving collaboration between the SCI and SET Panels. In 2013, Dr Stein was appointed as SCI Panel Member-at-Large for Camouflage, Concealment and Deception.

Dr Stein has led many international research task groups and presented research results at several scientific conferences. She has served as a SPIE Europe Symposium and Conference Chair, in addition to her work as a lecturer, and contributed to top scientific journals as a reviewer and special guest editor. Her previous accolades include winning the STO Scientific Achievement Award (Team) for work on "Mitigation of Ship Electro-Optical Susceptibility against Conventional and Asymmetric Threats" (SET-144). She has also chaired activities that were featured in the STO 2022 Highlights report​ (SET-269 and SCI-SET-323).

STO Excellence Awards

Multi-aspect and polarimetric radar images of a target; the information content is greatly enriched with respect to a single-pol single-aspect radar image.

This year's STO Excellence Awards honoured a Research Task Group focused on multi-dimensional radar imaging. Formed under the SET Panel, the team (SET-250) produced innovative algorithms to fully exploit multi-dimensional radar imaging systems, and to significantly increase their impact on automatic target recognition. The team also carried out large trials that collected valuable multidimensional radar data in a military-relevant environment. The data was used to test and validate multidimensional radar imaging systems, while also demonstrating the advantage of such systems compared to traditional, monodimensional systems. SET-250, comprised of 30 scientists from six NATO Nations and three NATO partner nations, began its work in 2017 and concluded in 2021.

The group's work has important implications for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, improving the ability to recognise and identify targets in tactical and strategic contexts. The team's cost-to-benefit analysis will also help to inform industry and governmental procurement decisions within the Alliance.

Dr.-Ing. Andreas Schütte, the other recipient of a 2024 STO Excellence Award, is a recognised leader in aerodynamics, particularly in the areas of vortex flow aerodynamics, fighter aircraft stability and control. A German national, Dr-Ing Schütte is a senior researcher and project manager at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), as well as a member of the Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT) Panel. Over the course of his career, he has carried out pioneering work in modelling and simulation, which serves as the cornerstone for the design and performance assessment of fighter and unmanned combat aircraft configurations.

Dr-Ing Schütte has been involved in 42 NATO STO activities, including research task groups, event activities and exploratory teams. His leadership has significantly advanced NATO's understanding of critical aerodynamic disciplines, and NATO has embraced his innovative concepts, techniques and tools on vortex flow aerodynamics, paving the way for digital transformation in several acquisition programmes. Dr-Ing Schütte's advisory role extends to the German Ministry of Defence and the German Air Force, where he plays a key role in shaping next-generation combat aircraft platforms and assessing potential adversary configurations. The 2024 STO Excellence Award recognises Dr.-Ing. Schütte's unwavering commitment to NATO and the STO, and the expertise, engagement and leadership he has displayed in coordinating multi-national and multi-disciplinary collaboration.​​

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