On the Cover: Boeing Phantom Works engineering technician Dave Dietrich removes aerospace hardware "grown" from powdered nylon materials in a revolutionary advanced manufacturing process called Selective Laser Sintering. The technique allows engineers to "grow" complex-shaped and hard-to-find parts of several materials u sing 3_D imagery and a laser instrument. Photo by Bob Ferguson

The A160 Hummingbird offers range and endurance unprecedented in the history of helicopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle design. Read more about Boeing's Concept Exploration UAV pioneering efforts in the Advanced Birds story.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes engineers Don Furlong and David Space look over the 747 interior mockup in Everett, Wash. (See "Dream Job" for complete story.) Photo by Bob Ferguson

INDEX

A message from Chief Technology Officer Jim Jamieson

Breaking the mold
Boeing engineers and technologists are constantly looking for ways to improve engineering and production cycle time, performance, quality and affordability. Here are some examples of amazing advanced manufacturing technologies that are transforming the way Boeing makes its products.

Advanced birds
A warehouse near Los Angeles could be housing the future of flight. Inside the building, Concept Exploration -- a Boeing-acquired company -- has everything it needs to design and build the unmanned aerial vehicles of the future.

Join together
The walls that traditionally have separated Engineering from Production are being eliminated throughout Boeing. In their place are cooperation and partnership.

Here's looking at Yu
Meet Jeanne Yu, the leader of a team charged with determining how to give 7E7 passengers the best airplane flying experience ever.

Energy in a bottle
As a 13-year-old boy earning pocket change in Gardena, Calif., John Tracy found there was more to working in a butcher's shop than wielding a meat cleaver. He learned from his boss an enduring truth about good business: The customer is always right. Always!

Eyes on the X-45 prize
Understanding engineers, customers and the bottom line, Darryl Davis has successfully guided Boeing through a dynamic Joint Unmanned Combat Air System program.

Dream Job: Why engineers find Boeing a great place to work
Technologists and engineers offer their perspectives on why Boeing is a great place to work.

A new step forward
Take a look inside the founding and focusing of Boeing Technology with this organizational and strategic overview.

Suppliers on board
"Doing the impossible is one of the things Boeing does best," asserts a commercial that has aired on major U.S. television. Now, see how how high-tech firms are becoming collaborators on accomplishing these missions impossible.

Global exploration
Boeing strives to work with the best technological talent and collaborate in developing new aerospace technologies. See how the company stays actively involved in global research and technology as it continues to build a broad theater for its activities.

Connexion ahoy!
Connexion by Boeing has headed out to sea. Maritime testing of the mobile communications system goes well in the North Atlantic.

The age of experience
Boeing is curbing brain drain in a new experiment, recruiting retired engineers for urgent and complex technical projects.

Peer approval
Boeing technical employees continued to receive honors form their industry peers in 2004. See who was recognized and read about Boeing's Special Invention Award recipients in this article.

A look at the Distributed Server Optimization Team
Take a look at how this team keeps cutting-edge information technology services operating at peak efficiency at Boeing.