September
21, 1998 Design News
12th Annual Engineering Achievement Award
JOHN BINGHAM
Log on to your computer today? Most of us couldn't
do business without interactive computer capability.
But without a modem for efficient data transfer, that
PC or Mac on your desk would essentially be a word-processing
paperweight. A noted mentor, John Bingham literally
wrote the book on modems--his Theory and Practice
of Modem Design is considered the major reference
work by those in the industry, where he is regarded
as "Mr. Modem." He invented the full-duplex
modem with coherent detection in 1973 and has been at
the forefront of high-speed developments ever since--culminating
in the latest V.90 standard. Holder of 13 patents, Bingham
has worked directly for eight companies in the Bay Area,
founding two of them. Most recently with Amati Communications,
now part of Texas Instruments, Bingham now consults
with developers and is finishing his latest book on
xDSL (expanded Digital Subscriber Line) technology that
is allowing copper lines to challenge fiber optics for
individual-subscriber, high-speed data transfer.
CHARLES N. COPPI
With commercial air travel becoming more inconvenient
because of fewer direct flights and crowded airplanes,
corporations are turning to what many of the Fortune
500 have know for years--business jet aircraft can be
a productive tool for maximizing use of corporate time.
Gulfstream jets fly higher than commercial traffic and
are routed directly to a destination without traffic-control
delays. Their speed and range are seldom exceeded commercially.
Technology advancements such as improved instrumentation
displays, satellite navigation, and pilot head-up displays
for foul-weather landing were introduced on Gulfstreams
before seeing commercial use. Spearheading such innovation
has been Charles Coppi. Trained as an aeronautical engineer,
he directed engineering and was principal conceptual
development engineer on all six Gulfstream models. The
airplanes' design versatility is also shown by many
Coppi-led adaptations, including the unique training
aircraft for teaching astronauts to land the Space Shuttle.
He also pioneered work for short and vertical take-off
airplanes, airborne surveillance, and anti-submarine
aircraft.
PETER DELFYETT
His may not be a household name, but the telecommunications
world knows him well. Peter Delfyett, associate professor
at the Center for Research and Education on Optics and
Lasers (CREOL) at the University of Florida, invented
the world's first commercially available modelocked
semiconductor laser diode from a U.S. manufacturer.
The laser releases the shortest and most powerful optical
pulses ever generated from a semiconductor laser diode.
He demonstrated a laser system using fast semiconductor
laser and high power solid-state amplifiers as a medical
imaging tool. This device can look inside the human
body, non-invasively, without using ionizing radiation
such as x-rays. He might be young, but his list of accomplishments
is impressive. At 37, Delfyett won the Presidential
Grant honoring young engineers. In 1993, he received
the Black Engineer of the Year Award for Most Promising
Engineer. Delfyett currently holds six patents. He also
helps bring science to students of all ages. One of
his projects includes a program to foster science experiments
in the schools of Harlem.
HEINZ ERZBERGER
Travelers and air-traffic controllers alike truly owe
Heinz Erzberger a "thank you." As an expert
in the area of trajectory optimization, flight mechanics,
controls, and automation concepts and algorithms for
the air traffic control system, Heinz Erzberger recently
designed the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS),
which the Federal Aviation Administration has adopted
as its terminal area air traffic automation system.
CTAS was conceived and is being prototyped at the NASA
Ames Research Center. The system inaugurates a new approach
to air traffic control, called human-centered automation,
that combines the skill of controllers with computer-generated
advisories. Early production versions of CTAS tools
are installed at air traffic control facilities serving
the Denver, Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles airports,
and FAA plans to install CTAS at more than 20 sites
nationwide. To date, CTAS demonstrates improvements
in both capacity (up to 13%) and delay savings (an average
of 2 minutes per flight). The tools in CTAS benefit
air traffic controllers by reducing stress and workload,
and benefit air travelers by reducing delays and increasing
safety.
RICHARD A. GRIEWSKI
More than a million times each year in hospitals all
around the world, a device called the heart-lung machine
keeps patients alive while surgeons repair damaged hearts
in an unobstructed "dry environment." Those
who benefit range from tiny babies with congenital defects
to adults suffering from arterial blockage. For many
years, Richard Griewski has led the design efforts on
the 3M Sarns brand of heart-lung pumping systems, one
of the oldest and most respected names in this life-sustaining
technology. Griewski has played a particularly important
role in pioneering the first computer-aided centralized
monitoring systems for heart-lung machines. In the process,
he has had to learn the fundamentals of cardiac surgery
to address the human factors needs of the perfusionists
who operate this equipment during critical moments.
His engineering expertise also includes: pumping systems,
cell biology, display systems, electronics, software,
and electromagnetic compatibility. One veteran perfusionist
at the famed Texas Heart Institute calls the Sarns devices
the "Coca Cola" of the field, based on the
machines' long track record for reliability, as well
as such innovations as automatic battery backup, integrated
gas mixer, and "splash-proof" design.
DANIEL P. NOONEN
GM, Proctor & Gamble, Compaq Computers, Goodyear...besides
the fact that these are all huge companies that make
products the public uses every day, they have something
else important in common: Dan Noonen. He was instrumental
in designing DeviceNet, the open networking solution
that helps each of these companies--and thousands of
others--manufacture their products more efficiently.
Introduced in 1994 and based on commercially available
CAN chips, DeviceNet is a low-cost communications link
able to connect a wide range of industrial devices to
a network, regardless of vendor. Because the specification
and protocol are open, vendors are not required to purchase
hardware, software, or licensing rights to connect devices
to a system. Users, moreover, can add a device or machine
to the production line without powering down. Noonen,
who joined Rockwell Automation (Allen-Bradley) in 1985,
has also played a key role in some of the first installations
and is one of the lead architects of RSNetWorx for DeviceNet--the
next generation of monitoring and configuration software.
LYNN M. OTTEN
For most of us, it's impossible to fully comprehend
the consequences of a disease such as Parkinson's or
Essential Tremor. Many sufferers shake constantly; they
can't eat, drink, or lead normal lives without the help
of caretakers. Thanks to Lynn Otten, however, Parkinson's
sufferers now have a potent weapon in the fight against
the disease. An engineer in Medtronic Inc.'s Neurological
Division, Otten worked with three others from the company
to develop the Activa Tremor Control system. It is the
first FDA-approved electrical stimulation device for
long-term implant in the brain. Starting on it as a
spare-time project, Otten spearheaded the five-year
development effort, which culminated when dramatic test
results began pouring in from clinical trails. A biomedical
engineer who holds numerous patents, Otten took the
device through development, testing, validation, and,
ultimately, to manufacturing. The device, which almost
completely stops the tremors, is now available to thousands
of Parkinson's sufferers who could not otherwise lead
normal lives.
KENNETH S. SOHOCKI
Worldwide truck sales exceeded 16 millions units in
1997 and are forecast to make up half of all vehicle
sales in North America in the next five years. The implications
of these numbers are not lost on Ken Sohocki. Chief
engineer of General Motors' all-new, full-size trucks,
Sohocki and his team oversee the development and execution
of the largest and most important program in the company's
history. It kicks off this fall with the introduction
of the 1999 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size
pickups, followed by a fleet of next-generation SUVs
and heavy-duty pickups. Once fully rolled out, the program
will consist of some 30 different models. To set a benchmark
for the full-size pickup segment, Sohocki and his team
aggressively pursued new technologies on all new designs,
including novel use of hydroforming, reinforced reaction
injection molding, and bused electrical center architecture.
Thanks to the creativity of Sohocki's team, the Silverado
and Sierra require 25% fewer parts per model and 15%
less base engineering content.
RICHARD J. SPEHALSKI
Dick "Spe" Spehalski leads the engineers
who designed the most complex interplanetary spacecraft
ever created: Cassini. The spacecraft--including its
orbiter and Huygens probe to the moon Titan--is currently
winging its way towards a rendezvous with Saturn in
2004. But for five years prior to its October '97 launch,
Spehalski championed the mission past cancellation threats
by cutting weight, lowering power requirements, and
putting the project back on track. And when it came
to resolving complex engineering issues with the project's
16 international partners, Spehalski was the man everyone
turned to. This isn't the first time NASA tapped him
to lead one of the agency's flagship programs; he also
served as project manager for the Galileo mission to
Jupiter. Following a term as project manager for the
Space Infrared Telescope Facility, Spehalski retired
in June 1998, but not before NASA awarded him its highest
honor, the Distinguished Service Medal.
TOM WILLIAMS
Movie stars covet Academy Awardsr, but few can claim
one. Tom Williams has two on his shelf, one for "Scientific
and Engineering,&
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