Boeing has honored Sammamish resident Ian Willson with the company’s annual Special Invention Award, which highlight the best of the company’s innovation.

The award is given each year to individuals and teams who are inspired to create inventions that prove most valuable to Boeing and to the future of aerospace. This year, 16 such inventions were recognized, most of which have been granted or are awaiting U.S. patents.

Willson, 50, is receiving the award for inventing systems to capture and organize massive amounts of data for a multitude of uses in Boeing’s engineering and business operations.

“It is quite an honor to receive an invention award for Information Technology,” Willson said. “Innovation is at the center of my work everyday. The greatest benefit comes from seeing your invention used successfully, often in ways you did not initially anticipate, and in some case long after you first conceived of it.”

Willson, who has been with Boeing for 14 years, earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Toronto in 1987, a doctorate in marketing and artificial intelligence from the University of Toronto in 1991, and held the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship resident at the University of Toronto from 1991-1993.

Before coming to Boeing, Willson created the first consumer air travel booking software, as well as Travel$ense, the industry standard for business travel analytics.

“Every day, our people strive to unveil the next breakthroughs that will strengthen our 97-year-old legacy of technical excellence and engineering achievement,” said John Tracy, Boeing’s chief technology officer and senior vice president of the company’s Engineering, Operations & Technology division. “Innovators like Ian have achieved a level of technical mastery that’s led to business success and that stands out from a peer group of outstanding, technically excellent, and resourceful professionals.”