What is the Walt Gillfillan Award?

Look up—do you hear that? It’s impossible not to. Day to day, across the world, thousands of aircraft fly overhead: they make the ground tremble, they disrupt conversations, they send people looking towards the sky. For decades, there was no way for affected community members to voice their concerns, let alone make a change. Aviation noise went largely unchecked. Sleep continued to be disturbed, children continued to be distracted, and people were starting to get really, really annoyed. 

That’s when Walt Gillfillan stepped in. A transportation planning consultant with a focus on aviation, he was more than familiar with the issues they created. He saw that there was a tremendous disconnect between airports—including those who managed them—and the people they affected. So, in order to bridge that gap, he created the Airport Community Roundtable. By providing a forum to connect community members and other stakeholders, people were able to share their thoughts and contribute to actionable solutions. 

Despite developments like the Roundtable, airplane emissions and noise pollution still pose a very real threat to our environment. Almost half a million people in the USA are exposed to significant aviation noise, and airplane emissions are responsible for 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Energy Agency—that’s the equivalent of 882 million tonnes of CO2. Aviation noise isn’t just a minor disturbance to those living in close proximity to airports. Like emissions and polluted air, high noise levels can contribute to health issues such as poor heart function, therefore leading to increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. With the aviation industry only continuing to grow, sustainability and public health are key concerns. 

But Walt’s work wasn’t done. In 1985, he created the Aviation Noise and Emissions Symposium (now affiliated with the UC Davis Air Quality Research Center) to further encourage community perspectives in the aviation industry. By bringing together different stakeholders such as airports, researchers, policymakers and community members, the symposium allows for collaborative approaches to the issues posed by aircraft. His legacy continues through the Walt Gillfillan Award, which recognizes an individual whose accomplishments involve airplane noise and emissions mitigation. 

Dave Carbone, a past award recipient and head of the Walt Gillfillan Award Committee, knows there’s a lot more work to be done. 

 “Through scientific efforts, aircraft design and land use policy, aviation noise impacts have declined dramatically—but it's still an issue,” he stated. 

Dave was awarded the Walt Gillfillan Award in 2017 to recognize his 25-year-long involvement with the San Francisco National Airport Community Roundtable as the Coordinator/Program Manager. He worked closely with Walt himself, and they shared the belief that community members could—and should—be a part of the conversation. “The public wants knowledge, the public wants to be informed,” he said. “They need to talk directly with their local representatives, like the mayor or city council. Our model with the Roundtable provided that to them.” Receiving the award was a big “thank you” from his community, and tangible evidence of the change he helped make. 

Dave’s work is just one example of an achievement towards more sustainable aircraft. Every year, a new person (or two) is recognized at the symposium. From professional to volunteer work, airline to environmental agencies, anyone who is working on aviation noise or emissions is eligible. Submitting a nomination, whether that be for others or for yourself, is a great way to acknowledge and support the work being done to improve our environmental and public health. 

Airplane noise and emissions are issues that integrate a variety of fields: we’re looking for work in science and technology, policy and regulation, leadership and communication, or even inspiration and activism. 

Nominations are being accepted until January 31, 2026—all you need to do is provide a brief description of their work. 

Combatting aviation pollution is still very much a work in progress. As Dave said, “Until there's an airplane that you can't hear, we're going to have this problem for a long, long time.” Air travel is nearly unavoidable in our modern world, but there are people out there who are working hard to make the aviation industry more sustainable—those people deserve to be celebrated.