When Jim McNerney took the helm at Boeing Co. (IW 500/16) in July 2005, the aerospace giant was reeling. Rival Airbus SAS had seized the throne as the world's top commercial-airplane manufacturer, and Boeing's reputation had taken a nosedive after its two previous CEOs had resigned in disgrace....More

The seeds of the merger that spawned the world's largest defense contractor were planted in the late 1980s, when Norm Augustine -- then CEO of Martin Marietta Corp. -- realized that deep defense-spending cuts were on the horizon....More

Robert Curl Jr. longed to be a chemist from the age of 9, when his parents gave him his first chemistry set. Curl, now 79, admits that a large part of his initial attraction was the prospect of seeing things explode....More