The Arnold D. Tuttle Award is given for original research that has made the most significant contribution toward the solution of a challenging problem in aerospace medicine and published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance. It is sponsored by KBR.

John French, MS, Ph.D., and Scott D. Wagner, CAsP, MA, MAS, BS, are the winners of the 2026 Arnold D. Tuttle Award for their article “Beard Length and the Efficacy of an Aviator Oxygen Mask” [Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2025; 96(4):322–326]. In their article, the authors tested the efficacy of face mask sealing on men with beards. They took continuous oximetry readings in three conditions: no beards, short beards, and long beards, in a normobaric hypoxia chamber. Masks were worn for 10 minutes and then removed for 2 minutes. Once subjects were returned to normoxia, smelling salts were held under the chin with the mask on to test whether the scent could be perceived. The authors found no differences between arterial saturation percent of oxygen (SPO2) between beard conditions for either mask-on or mask-off segments in the chamber. There were significant differences in SPO2 between mask on and mask off, indicating that hypoxia would have been detected had any of the masks been ineffective. Additionally, the subjects could not perceive the smelling salts through the masks regardless of beard condition.