Patrick Binning Earns University of Colorado Boulder Alumni Honor for Aerospace Contributions

Patrick Binning of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, has received the University of Colorado Boulder’s Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences award for excellence in public service.

Each year, the school honors alumni for their contributions to the aerospace industry, technical achievement and public service. Binning is one of nine alumni to earn the award this year, and was the only winner in the public service category.

“It is a tremendous honor to earn this recognition from my alma mater,” said Binning. “Delivering critical contributions to our nation’s security has been the focus of my career, which I began at CU Boulder, an institution that I value immensely.”

Binning serves as National Security Space mission area executive at APL, leading an organization focused on providing technical innovations to meet important national security space challenges. Since the start of his tenure in 2016, Binning has led the delivery of several groundbreaking technical missions, including the Spacebased Kill Assessment program for the Missile Defense Agency and the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability Technology Demonstration for the United States Space Force. Binning also serves as program chair of the Space Systems Engineering program in the Whiting School of Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University.

“Patrick Binning is an outstanding leader for APL’s national security space efforts who has also enabled the creation of innovative educational offerings for our nation’s space warfighters and national security professionals,” said APL’s Space Exploration Sector Head Bobby Braun. “I am thrilled to see this recognition of his technical, leadership and service contributions.”

In 2020, Binning created the Cislunar Security Conference, an annual event APL hosts on its campus that brings together experts from industry, government and academia to navigate topics related to security in cislunar space — the region between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit and the Moon. Prior to joining APL, Binning managed programs or directed research for multiple organizations, including the Missile Defense Agency, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office. He also served as a fellow in the Department of Commerce Science and Technology Fellowship Program.

Binning received his Master of Science and doctoral degrees from the Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati. In 2017, he earned a certificate from Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in National and International Security Program.

Award recipients will be recognized during the 2024 AeroBuffs Club alumni banquet and ceremony on April 19.