David J. Nims | Phone: 425-397-9814 | Fax: 425-397-0489 | nimsd@aol.com |
After graduating from the University of Arizona, where I obtained my M.Sc. in Physics, I joined Goodyear Aerospace, working at their Arizona Division. Hired as an optical engineer, I joined the team working on the development of the UPD-4 Correlator. The UPD-4 is a military synthetic-aperture, side-looking, imaging radar system. The airborne component produces a film strip containing what is essentially a hologram of the terrain parallel to the flight path. A correlator is a sophisticated optical system that allows the hologram to be collapsed into a real image of the terrain. I was involved in the design of a cylindrical lens zoom system, part of the correlator optics. I used Goodyear's ray-trace program to analyze aberrations and optimize lens design. I then was involved in writing the specifications for the outside manufacturing of the correlator optics.
My next assignment was to build an optical system to produce a test film that would be used to align and test the UPD-4 correlators during the assembly process. Goodyear had already procured a set of optics (lenses) for this purpose. Basically, it was a correlator, that would be used in reverse, starting with test targets, and producing holograms of these target, that would simulate the output from the UPD-4 airborne radar.
With this job completed, I then wrote the procedures to be used for aligning the UPD-4 optics, and was involved in the process of pre-aligning the optics into modules prior to final assembly. Finally, I did the final alignment, using the test film I had produced to verify compliance to specification.
Following this work, I was promoted to Project Engineer for the Base Plant Correlator project. Since it was a relatively small project, I also functioned as the Systems Engineer, and handled all the optical engineering associated with the project. The Electrical Engineers and Mechanical Engineers on the project worked under my direction. I reported to the Project Manager.
By this time I had been with the company for about 5-years, and I began transitioning into a Project Manager role. For all the projects on which I worked, I wore more than one hat, usually also functioning as Project Engineer and Systems Engineer, and I usually took direct responsibility for the optical part of the work. I also became involved in the marketing side, writing several major proposals, and accompanying the sales team into the field.
My next major project was an optical image-image correlator for the Army. It was designed and built to demonstrate the feasibility of using optical analysis to remove distortions and match newly acquired imagery to existing imagery, for the purposes of detecting changes.
In my last years with Goodyear, I began to specialize in digital film image recorders for remote sensing application. Officially a Project Manager, I was now reporting to the Engineering Operations Manager. I was peripherally involved as a consultant on some on Goodyear's most classified covert programs, and carried a Top Secret DOD clearance, as well as program level clearances on these programs. However, most of my work was targeted at the emerging civilian remote sensing application. We built the laser film recorder for the USGS facility in Sioux Falls, S.D., and for the Canadian facility in Alberta, as a subcontractor to MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates (MDA), a Vancouver B.C. company that had the prime contract. I began to see an opportunity for a real commercial product. MDA had asked us about the possibility of producing a lower-cost version of our film recorder, as our price was not compatible with their cost-effective system strategy. We did a quick feasibility study, and approached Goodyear with a proposal for developing this as an off-the-shelf product. This was an unusual concept for Goodyear Aerospace, and to our disappointment, the request was turned down.
By now, I was developing an entrepreneurial drive, and was beginning to feel constrained by Goodyear's military-oriented management and cost structure. I started looking for outside opportunities. One of the companies I spoke with was MDA. They were in the process of booking their first system order from a military customer, and were nervous. They were very interested in my background managing military projects. This led to an official job offer, and, after 10-years, I left Goodyear.