52-Year Engineering Career Ends for Southwest Research Institute Operating Chief

Walt Downing retired as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Southwest Research Institute this spring, ending a 47-year run at the San Antonio nonprofit research organization. His engineering career spans 52 years, beginning with work on microprocessors and ending with leadership of a staff that develops technology for outside clients.

Downing holds an MBA from UT San Antonio, class of 1986, and an electrical engineering degree from Southern Methodist University. He began at Southwest Research Institute as a senior research engineer, working on the automated testing of aircraft electronics, then moved into engineering management. He enrolled in the UT San Antonio business program to prepare for that shift.

At the institute, Downing established and led the Aerospace and Training Systems Division. He said the work requires a willingness to tackle hard problems. "To work at Southwest Research Institute, you need to enjoy solving difficult technical problems," Downing said. "Because if they weren't difficult, they wouldn't need us. They could solve it on their own."

He pointed to two projects he considers his most significant accomplishments. The first was an initiative to develop a vehicle capable of driving itself on the streets of New York City; the autonomous driving capability was reached in 2008, and the institute later adapted the technology for military projects. The second involved work with NASA on major space programs, including the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Juno mission to Jupiter, where teams built instrumentation or computers for the missions.

Downing said his business training mattered most when projects moved from research into delivery. "Not all scientifically trained people do well in terms of keeping projects on schedule, meeting budgets and interacting with clients. That is where my MBA became so valuable," he said. "If you execute well, then your growth of people and revenue will follow."

He has stayed connected to the San Antonio business and engineering communities after graduation. He sits on advisory councils for the Carlos Alvarez College of Business and the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design at UT San Antonio, and he has worked with students through the IEEE student branch and the Robotics Automation Society chapter. Through IEEE, he advanced to president of the Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society and now serves as chair of the Lone Star Section in San Antonio.

In 2011, Downing established the SwRI-UT San Antonio Scholarship for Children and Dependents of SwRI Employees, a fund he supports alongside other donors. He and his wife, Sharon, also partnered with the McNay Art Museum to give UT San Antonio students, faculty and staff free admission. "UTSA was the only local university that didn't have this benefit," Downing said. "Once again, it allowed us to support both the McNay and UTSA through our giving."

Downing now plans to spend time with his three grandchildren, travel and work around the house.