This year we recognize two technologists for their achievements and contributions to TS&I.

Technologist of the Year – Jonathan Hacker – Teledyne Scientific
Jon Hacker is recognized for his excellence in innovation, development and demonstration of novel RF and mmWave components and Microsystems.  Jon’s technical leadership of the RF design group has resulted in key program wins and successful execution over multiple phases of numerous DARPA programs including SURF, THz Electronics and SMART.  Jon has been successful year-over-year in developing new technologies that are aimed at revolutionizing active apertures for the future. Towards this end, he has designed the world’s lowest power consumption mmWave circuits in terms of dc power (from 10-110 GHz), the world’s highest power sources in terms of power delivery (at 94 GHz), and the world’s most compact mmWave transmit and receive arrays.

Jon has more than a decade of solid technical achievements and more recently the successful integration of mmWave Silicon beamformers with Compound-Semiconductor transceivers. Collectively these technologies provide us an opportunity to participate in an estimated multi-billion dollar mmWave active electronically scanned antenna market. 

Jon’s citation reads: “Excellence in innovation, development and demonstration of novel RF and mmWave components and Microsystems.”

Technologist of the Year– Eric Piquette – Teledyne Imaging Sensors
Eric Piquette is recognized for his extraordinary contributions in the HgCdTe double layer heterostructure infrared detectors development and the achievements of low noise and high operability large format infrared arrays.

As a principal investigator on various high profile programs, Eric demonstrated his talent as a gifted scientist in the development of low-noise detectors and increasing operability of large format arrays.  His findings have a large impact on programs such as Wide Field Camera, various Ground Based Astronomy programs, High Stare, GOES-ABI, H4RG, and JDEM. Low noise infrared large format arrays significantly improved infrared astronomy with unparalleled sensitivity which was made possible with Eric’s great scientific work, greatly expanding our focal plane array capabilities and giving us the opportunity to capture key programs.

As a senior scientist, he willingly shares his gifts, talents, keen-eye and expertise with others.  It is his extraordinary poise and style in contributing his best to all of his undertaking that creates an environment that draws the very best from his colleagues.

Eric’s citation reads: “For extraordinary contributions and achievements in the development of low noise and high operability large format infrared arrays.”

Team of the Year – Strained Layer Superlattice (SLS) Technology Team
The SLS team is recognized for the technical and program achievements that repositioned us as the leading industrial SLS FPA developer and manufacturer. 

Through a number of successful executions, the team has improved the detector performance and affordability, produced word-record FPA performance on Fast FPA, and demonstrated 4x improvements on rapid cycle times for MBE materials on STEPS.  These achievements resulted in five published papers and multiple conferences and seminar publications as well as several invitations for conference talks.

The team’s exceptional achievements are exemplified by the numerous wins over the recent years.  The team was selected to receive an award on the STEPS program and won a key development program.  In 2010, the team won a FastFPA contract with MDA with a 10X plus-up follow-on thanks to the continued improvement, and selected to receive a sole source SLS program.  The SLS program sales have grown 60% per year over the last 4 years.

The members of the SLS team are:  Team Lead - William Tennant; Teledyne Imaging Sensors – Allan Evans, Joseph Hosack, Robert Fisher, Alan Roll, Gernot Hildebrandt, Paul Kobrin, Jeffrey Boyd, Rafael Perez, Sridhar Narayanaswamy, Eric Holland, Atul Konkar, Scott Freeman, Bryan Gall and Angelina Gibson; Teledyne Scientific – Amal Ikhlassi, Gerry Sullivan, Jennifer Kuo and Ken Koogler

The citation for the SLS team reads: “For exceptional SLS technology advancements and business growth. The SLS Technology Team has established Teledyne as the leading industrial supplier of SLS detector technology.”

Operations Excellence – Charles Beck – Teledyne Imaging Sensors
Charles Beck is recognized for his extraordinary contributions to Program Control and Business Management in Teledyne Imaging Sensors.

When asked to step in as the Business and Finance Manager for Imaging, Chuck was already carrying a full time load of supporting Program Managers and Operations in a Program Control function.  For the majority of the year, Chuck managed both Program Control and Business Management.  Chuck carried all of the business operations responsibilities for most of 2010 and he was effective in reducing indirect expenses and working with Operations to increase their direct labor realization.

His responsibilities in the business operations area reach over a broad range of assignments.  He provided the finance information to the management team, supported CDRL reports and quarterly EACs.  Chuck provided mature advice and guidance for both program managers and senior management.  In addition, Chuck assisted in contract and program control for many programs such as EXACTO, NIRD and TRES, his involvement ranging from negotiating the fees to the program control support.  Chuck has carried out these tasks with the highest level of professionalism, thoroughness, and positive attitude.

Chuck’s award citation reads: “For extraordinary services for TS&I business through accurate and timely financial services, mature guidance to program managers and senior management, and number of program supports duties, carried out with outstanding attitude and extremely high level of commitment to company success.”

Partner of the Year – Charles Stark Draper Laboratory
Draper Lab is recognized for partnership and the contributions in the development of the guidance and control of precision guided munitions, aerodynamic structures and gun launch survivable electronics for the Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) program.

Draper Lab joined the EXACTO Team six months into the Phase I effort, Draper quickly became an invaluable element of our eventual win in the EXACTO competition.  Draper brought a wealth of knowledge in guidance and control of precision guided munitions, concepts for novel aerodynamic structures and gun launch survivable electronics.  All of these capabilities were of critical importance in strengthening our approach for EXACTO, providing unique solutions that enabled the revised concept for EXACTO to achieve superior performance in achieving superior performance in meeting DARPA’s program metrics.  Draper’s team worked under very tight time and budgetary constraints to integrate our technologies with their guidance and control and bullet designs to support a hardware-in-the-loop simulation that far exceeded DARPA’s requirements.  EXACTO PM, Lyn Beamer, says “… the Draper team was responsible for the Hardware in the Loop simulation which was the most important element in the government’s evaluation of the program's ability to meet DARPA metrics …”   Coupled with the well-received Phase I design delivered by the team, Draper’s performance across the program has put us in a unique position for future actively guided direct-fire munitions programs.

The Draper Laboratory’s citation reads: “For creativity, energy and excellence in support of the winning Teledyne Team in the EXACTO Phase I program.”

Partner of the Year – Gerald Luppino, GL Scientific
GL Scientific is recognized for the partnership in the development of high-quality, innovative packages for imaging sensors.

Since 2001, GL Scientific, a world leader in the design and fabrication of packaging for sensor chip assemblies and FPAs, has consistently provided high quality innovative designs, timely cost effective fabrication of custom packaging and cryostat test stations.  GL Scientific has been a key partner, developing new technologies and products with us and has been critical to bringing new business to our company.  The package solution GL Scientific has provided includes the ones for our highly successful Hawaii family of imaging sensors, SIDECAR ASIC chip now in use in the Hubble Space Telescope, and other specialized focal plane assemblies such as the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) of James Webb Space Telescope (JWSC), the BTB mission for the US. Air Force, and 2x2 H2RG mosaics for ground based observatories.  GL Scientific was a key partner in the winning of these critical programs.

In addition, GL Scientific has provided all of the cryostats used in our advanced spaceflight testing laboratory enabling unique capability for extremely reliable FPAs for the unique, very cold and very dark, environment.  We have submitted many proposals as partners, and through astronomy connections GL Scientific has brought several funding opportunities to us that otherwise would not have been possible.  The SiC array and SIDECAR ASIC packages from GL Scientific are the baseline for both NASA’s and ESA’s dark energy missions, and GL Scientific is our partner on 12 proposals for Discovery and Explorer missions (flight mission selection in 2012 or 2013). GL Scientific has been involved in over 30 programs with us.

GL Scientific’s citation read: “For high quality innovative designs, timely cost effective fabrication, outstanding teamwork, and excellence in custom focal plane array packaging.”