2022 STEM Hero Honorees

Major Ruben I. Ihuit has displayed exemplary leadership in every organization he has been a member of, from testing F-15/B-1 aircraft to developing multi-billion dollar platforms for both the warfighter and the commercial sector.

Major Ihuit is currently a Chief for two separate branches, each of which were previously led by their own lieutenant colonels – a testament to both his leadership aptitude and the trust his superior officers have in him. As the Chief of the Military GPS User Equipment Engineering Branch, Maj Ihuit leads a 32-person team responsible for the test and evaluation of two GPS modernization programs valued at $3 billion. As Chief of the Security Certification Branch, meanwhile, he leads a 53-member team in the assessment of cryptographic security designs for hardware and software deployed across 23 DoD programs.

A native Mayan Indian born in Merida, Yucatan to a single mother with little more than a 6th grade education, young Ruben moved to the United States as a boy and earned admission to the U.S.  Air Force Academy, graduating in 2008 with a degree in Astronautical Engineering. In 2015, he was accepted into the Space Acquisition Exchange Program and received his Space Wings. As a fully qualified space operator, Ruben has executed 34 space lift, ballistic and missile defense missions valued at over $18 billion.

Prior to assuming his current command, Major Ihuit served as the Deputy Chief for Weather System Follow-on Microwave at Los Angeles Air Force Base, where he was responsible for a $744 million space systems portfolio and led a team of 22 military and civilian personnel.