George B. Harrison, the director of strategic initiatives for the Georgia Tech Research Institute, was appointed to the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame board of directors by Gov. Sonny Perdue in June.

Harrison, a retired Air Force major general, was commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico before his retirement from the military. He began his Air Force career as an F-4 pilot at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and has logged more than 7,000 hours in 95 types of civil and military aircraft, including 530 hours in combat missions all over the world. Harrison commanded the 4485th Test Squadron, the 479th Tactical Training Wing, the Air Warfare Center and the Joint Task Force Southwest Asia and served as the director of operations for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa.

Director and executive vice president of the Air Warrior Courage Foundation and director of the Aero Club of Metro Atlanta, Harrison is an avid civil aviator and an FAA instructor in single and multiengine airplanes, instruments and gliders. He has published works on military aviation and strategy and has won military awards and service medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze campaign stars and the Kuwait Liberation Medal from the government of Kuwait.

The Hall of Fame is located at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Ga.

Harrison earned a bachelor's degree in general engineering and public policy from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a master's degree in industrial management from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a program for executives in national and international security at Harvard University. He and his wife, Pennie, have three children and live in Atlanta.