Community Service

While he is known for being an outstanding staff engineer and an individual contributor in his work at Bell Textron, Dr. Gilberto Morales is honored here tonight for his exceptionally strong commitment to community service outside of his day to day duties at the leading aerospace manufacturer.

That’s not to minimize his engineering work on ceramic bearings used in Bell’s helicopter gearbox, or his multiple engineering degrees, or his 21 U.S. patents and 9 world patents.

As the PIT lead for two $1 million projects for the Future Advanced Rotorcraft Drive Systems (FARDS) research project, Dr. Morales led the design and testing of a hybrid mast and a sprag clutch system. He also led the design of the various components for the FARDS project that optimized a helicopter’s gearbox to increase its power while minimizing its weight.

But to consider Dr. Morales only through the lens of his impressive professional record would miss one of the aspects of his life that distinguishes him from other equally talented engineers.

After his older kids left for college eight years ago, Dr. Morales began volunteering with the Boy Scouts of America, mentoring robotics and drone teams, and presenting to students and parents at various educational events on behalf of Bell Textron.

His work with the Boy Scouts has included serving as an advancement coordinator, merit badge counselor, and finding clinics that showed the scouts different technical skills and fields of study like composite materials, welding, radio operation and transportation.

Dr. Morales has also been a robotics mentor for 17 First Lego League robotics teams and the First Robotics Competition team 4206, teaching students about the engineering design process, gearboxes, pneumatics, and manufacturing.

Born to working class parents who never went beyond 6th grade educations, Dr. Morales’

construction worker father taught him to work hard, to take pride in your work, and that no work is too menial for anyone.

These lessons served him well as he became the first in his family to graduate from college, which he did firstly at the University of Texas at El Paso where he earned both his B.S. and his M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering.

He later went on to earn his treasured Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002.

Dr. Morales is the author of numerous professional publications and presentations and is also the recipient of several prestigious technical awards for his work in sensor design.

He is a member of the Education Committee at Bell Textron, which promotes STEM careers and activities at local schools, and he serves on the Nolan Catholic High School Engineering Steering Committee, which focuses on the development and implementation of STEM and Engineering curriculum for the school.