Dr. John Hackwell, Ten Others Win Top Aerospace Awards
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (10/26/98) -- Dr. John Hackwell, recognized internationally for his work in long-wave-infrared hyperspectral imaging, has won The Aerospace Corporation's most coveted award, the Trustees' Distinguished Achievement Award.
The awarded was presented by Trustee Robert Shannon Sept. 24 during an annual convocation that recognizes technical achievements at the company.
Receiving President's awards presented by President Edward C. "Pete" Aldridge, Jr., were Dr. Warren Hwang; Daniel Stoffel; Dr. Harold Yura; the team of Dr. Albert "Buzz" Merrill, Donald H. Martin and Dr. Reynold "Reg" Rose; and the team of Martin Bottjer, Dr. Jack Holmes, Steven Lazar and Dr. Srini Raghavan.
John Hackwell
Dr. John Hackwell, director of the Office of Spectral Applications in the Engineering and Technology Group, has brought national and international recognition to Aerospace as a world leader in long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) hyperspectral imaging.
With the invention of SEBASS, the Spatially-Enhanced Broadband Array Spectrograph System, he has taken Aerospace to the forefront of a new remote-sensing technology. The instrument, an advanced sensor designed to identify invisible gases in the air and materials on the ground, has increasingly become the focus of LWIR imaging spectrographic work in the country.
The applications for this new technology are being demonstrated across a broad range of military, intelligence, civil and commercial agencies. Hackwell is coordinating Aerospace efforts in this exploding new field and is leading the effort to identify innovative applications--such as geologic mapping--in the civil and commercial arenas.
Hackwell joined Aerospace in 1985. He received a President's Achievement Award in 1989 and a Group Achievement Award in 1988. He is a member of NASA's Science Operations Management Working Group, which is advising NASA headquarters on the operation and management of the Space Astrophysics Spacecraft.
He attended University College London, where he earned bachelor's and doctoral degrees in physics.
Warren Hwang
Recognized nationally as an expert in the field of spacecraft batteries, Dr. Warren Hwang has led Aerospace support on battery issues for four major program offices over a 10-year period.
He has made sustained contributions to the Global Positioning System (GPS), the Defense Support Program (DSP), the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS), and other programs.
He is responsible for the achievement of significant cost savings, the preservation of critical launch schedules, the resolution of elusive battery-related technical issues, and the avoidance of potentially severe programmatic problems for the program offices.
Hwang is also an expert nationally recognized in cell electrochemistry and all phases of battery systems, manufacturing, testing, and flight operations. He has devoted years of cross-program service to the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's office of the Chief Engineer and to NASA's Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Steering Committee. As The Aerospace Corporation's battery representative, he has provided critical horizontal engineering support across a variety of programs.
Hwang, manager of the Energy Storage Section within the Engineering and Technology Group's Technology Operations, joined Aerospace in 1973. He received a corporate Group Achievement Award in 1989 and has received numerous customer commendations. He earned a B.A. in chemistry from Rice University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from UCLA.
Daniel Stoffel
An engineering specialist in the Engineering and Technology Group's Graphics and Hardware Technology Department, Daniel Stoffel designed and implemented in just three months a low-cost, high-fidelity digital recording and playback system critical to the success of a customer mission.
The system, the Serial Access Verbatim Online Recorder (SAVOR), has a unique PC-based design, integrating commercial, off-the-shelf components and custom software developed by Stoffel.
The system has been successfully deployed to all Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) ground stations. The Air Force selected SAVOR as the recording solution for ARGOS, the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite. ARGOS is part of the Air Force Space Test and Experimentation program and will be the largest and most complex Air Force research-and-development satellite system to date. Several other programs have requested the use of SAVOR for their missions.
Stoffel began his Aerospace career in 1988. In addition to his many customer commendations, he has received a corporate inventor's award for SAVOR and an Aerospace Quality Team Award for achievements as a member of the Communications Quality Action Team.
Stoffel earned a B.S. in computer engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology and an M.S. in computer engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Harold Yura
In an Aerospace career spanning more than 27 years, Dr. Harold Yura has achieved international recognition for his lifelong work in statistical optics. He has developed new theories for optical scintillation and beam propagation through optical systems and turbulent atmospheres, and his findings have been reported in more than 60 publications.
He has developed powerful analytical tools to characterize the interactions of coherent light with random media and has applied those tools to support numerous national security programs.
Yura's unique approach as a mathematical physicist has allowed him to arrive at original solutions and solution techniques for many complex problems. For most of his Aerospace career he has been the only corporate expert in statistical optics and one of the few scientists in the nation working in this area.
Yura is a distinguished scientist in the Engineering and Technology Group's Electronics Technology Center, Technology Operations. He came to Aerospace in 1970 and has been a fellow of the Optical Society of America since 1975. He was an adjunct full professor at UCLA from 1976 to 1983 concurrent with his Aerospace career.
Yura is a graduate of Caltech, where he earned a B.S. in physics and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. His thesis advisor was Nobel laureate Professor Richard Feynman.
Albert Merrill, Donald H. Martin and Reynold Rose
The team of Dr. Albert "Buzz" Merrill, Donald H. Martin and Dr. Reynold "Reg" Rose initiated an unprecedented system-of-systems design and radio spectrum protection methodology, resulting in critical mission protection for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Their teamwork in analysis, negotiation, presentation, and customer liaison resulted in the NRO director's approval of the first NRO spectrum-use policy and a 20-year spectrum-management plan.
Merrill and Martin are senior engineering specialists in the Communication Systems Engineering Department, Engineering and Technology Group.
Merrill joined Aerospace in 1967. He attended Caltech, where he received a B.S. in engineering and an M.S. in electrical engineering, and USC, where he earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering.
Martin joined Aerospace in 1968. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from UCLA.
Rose began his Aerospace career in 1994 after retiring from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati, an M.A. in industrial relations from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Ph.D. in industrial relations from Arizona State University.
Martin Bottjer, Jack Holmes, Steven Lazar and Srini Raghavan
Martin Bottjer, Dr. Jack Holmes, Steven Lazar and Dr. Srini Raghavan invented a new GPS signal structure that may represent the most significant change in the system since its inception. The new signal structure allows the addition of a new military signal in the same frequency band as the existing signals, while protecting performance for civil users.
For years before their invention the GPS community had been unable to find a solution for the next GPS upgrade that would satisfy the growth requirements of civil and military users while retaining a national military advantage during times of war.
The team invented, analyzed and demonstrated a new modulation scheme based on Manchester coding (Tricode Hexaphase Modulation) that fully satisfies these requirements without the use of additional radio-frequency (RF) spectrum and maintains compatibility with existing GPS receivers.
The team's innovative work relieved the government and industry of the search for a new frequency band and focused attention on the efficient use of existing frequency allocations.
The team members are all recognized innovators in the field of communications electronics and RF circuits.
Bottjer is a senior member of the technical staff in the Microwave/Millimeter-Wave Electronics office, Engineering and Technology Group (ETG). He joined Aerospace in 1962. He attended Hofstra College and the U.S. Air Force Electronics School.
Holmes and Raghavan are senior engineering specialists in ETG's Communication Systems Subdivision.
Holmes joined Aerospace in 1991. He earned B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from UCLA.
Raghavan came to Aerospace in 1986. He attended Osmania University in India, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering, and the University of Missouri-Rolla, earning M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering.
Lazar, a senior project engineer in the GPS System Development and Engineering Directorate, Space Systems Group, joined Aerospace in 1979. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from UCLA.
