?»?Ray has been interested in aviation and space ever since he was a young boy, instilled in him by his father?€™s interest in these fields. Ray qualified for his student pilot?€™s license at age 16 and went on to study aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, graduating in 1963. His professional engineering career has been dedicated to missiles and gas turbine engines.

He began his career as an engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company, Missile & Space Division, making significant contributions to the success of the Saturn IV and IVB rockets that ultimately carried men to the moon.

After a short time at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Ray joined General Electric Company where he has spent the last 44 years of his continuing career working on gas turbine engines, specializing in aeromechanical engineering. In 2008 Ray received the Donald F. ?€?Truly?€? Warner award, given to the engineer-of-the-year at GE-Aviation, Lynn, Massachusetts. He received this award in honor of his lifetime achievement in Aeromechanics. During his first 42 years with GE, he made major contributions to virtually every gas turbine engine at GE-Aviation, including the T58, J85, F404, F414, TF/CF34, T700, CT7, GE90, GP7000 and numerous advanced engines.

Ray has also developed and led training programs in advanced aeromechanics engineering, sharing his vast knowledge and experience with new generations of GE engineers.