In Remembrance
John Edward Breyer
(1934 – 2024)
John Edward Breyer passed awaay on October 6, 2024. John embarked on a distinguished engineering career after joining the Navy at 17. Following electronics training, he maintained radar, sonar, and communications equipment on the USS Epping Forest during the Korean War, supporting marine deployments and engaging in critical missions. He later served in Vietnam, where his ship patrolled rivers exposed to hostile fire, often requiring John to man weaponry. After leaving the Navy in 1957, John earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of Illinois.
His career began at General Electric, where he designed spacecraft components and large display systems, advancing his technical expertise and leadership skills through GE’s esteemed General Manager Training School. After nearly three decades, he joined Scientific Atlanta in 1989, managing their antenna measurement and radar cross-section businesses. His leadership led him to become group vice president, overseeing 11 business units until his initial retirement in 1997...Read More
Barry J. Cown
(1941 – 2023)
Dr. Barry J. Cown (Senior Member of AMTA) passed away on August 27, 2023, at the age of 82 years. After high school graduation, Barry served in the Navy for 4 years and then worked at Lockheed. Barry then went on to earn his Bachelor’s in Physics, and began working at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in 1972. Barry would go on to earn his PhD in Physics in 1982 while working for for Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), where he became a Principal Research Scientist. Barry received the Outstanding Performance in Research award for GTRI in 1989 for his ground-breaking work on the Modulated Scattering Technique (MST) and rapid near-field testing. Barry also developed the Spherical Angle Function (SAF) Analysis technique, widely used by the Navy and elsewhere for predicting antenna performances in complex scattering environs, such as ship topsides, space platforms, etc. Barry went on to found GEMTECH Microwaves, under which he formed a joint venture with Satimo/MVG, promoting the use of multiprobe arrays for rapid near-field and scattering measurements. Barry was a long-time IEEE and AMTA contributor, having published nearly 50 papers dating back to 1972...Read More
Ned Allen Barry
(1975 – 2023)
Edwin “Ned” Allen Barry, born October 2, 1975, of Cumming, Georgia, passed away on August 23, 2023. Ned was a Senior Applications Engineer for NSI-MI Technologies and was a member of the AMTA community since attending his first AMTA conference in 2014 and was a regular contributor to the AMTA Proceedings.
He was born in San Diego, California and grew up in the Plattsburgh, New York area where he attended Plattsburgh High School. Ned earned his B. Sc. Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York and completed his M.S. and Ph.D. Electrical Engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Not one to shy away from challenges, Ned’s thesis title for his Doctorate was, “Terahertz Generation in Submicron Nitride-based Semiconductor Devices.” Much of the work in his career was spent in antenna design, development, and characterization of antenna performance. In addition to his thesis, Ned was the author or co-author of 9 journal articles and 14 conference papers and presentations....Read More
Dr. Dean L. Mensa
(1939 – 2023)
Dr. Dean L. Mensa, pioneer in the field of Radar Cross Section (RCS) measurements and high-resolution RCS imaging passed away on 8 July 2023 following a year-long illness. In 1951 at age 12, Dean immigrated with his mother from Pinerolo, Italy to Los Angeles, California. Upon graduation from Belmont High School in 1957, the United States Navy recruited Dean into Civil Service and supported his college education and development as an Engineer/Scientist at the Navy’s Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC), Point Mugu, California. Through this support, Dean completed his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering at the University of California Los Angeles in 1961. Dean married his high school sweetheart Judy in 1960 (he had to wait for her to graduate from high school) and they began their young family having three children: Denise, Debbie, and Dino...Read More
Jamie D. Huff
(1947 – 2023)
James (Jamie) D. Huff, CEO & President of The Howland Company and a longtime Senior Member of AMTA, passed away on 17 June 2023. Jamie was an exceptional leader, visionary, and mentor who played an instrumental role in the antenna measurement community. He worked in the antenna industry his entire career having started shortly after graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He spent his career first at Scientific-Atlanta and later with The Howland Company. He was a key supporter of AMTA and published 18 technical papers in the AMTA publication archive.
Beyond his professional achievements, Jamie was an incredibly warm, compassionate, and generous individual. He fostered a culture of inclusivity, respect, and teamwork within our organization. Jamie believed in empowering every employee, nurturing their talents, and encouraging their growth. His legacy will forever be imprinted in the hearts and minds of all who had the privilege of working alongside him...Read More
Ray Howland
(1934 – 2023)
Ray Howland passed away January 29th, 2023, just a few days before his 89th birthday, after a long illness. He had been retired from The Howland Company for several years, but his presence was always felt. Ray was a long-time member of AMTA and at most recently a Fellow Emeritus member. Ray contributed much to AMTA over the years by publishing technical papers and as the founder of The Howland Company, was a corporate supporter of the fall conferences. For his technical achievements to the community, he was award the AMTA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2003.
Ray was born in 1934 in LaGrange, Georgia. His father was a pastor and his mother a schoolteacher. He spent his childhood and youth in North Carolina and eastern Pennsylvania. He attended Rice University, served in the US Army in Germany and California, and following his Army service continued his studies at George Washington University and Cornell...Read More
Jesper Hansen
(1929 – 2023)
Professor Jesper E. Hansen of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) passed away on 14th January 2023 at the age of 93 years. He had retired from DTU in 1997 completing a 40 years career in electromagnetics. In the antenna measurement community, Jesper is recognized for his ground-breaking contribution to the spherical near-field antenna measurement technique, and his editorship of the seminal monograph “Spherical Near-Field Antenna Measurements” with co-authors Frank Jensen, Flemming Holm Larsen, and Jørgen Hald from 1988. Today, this book remains the central reference for researchers and engineers engaged in spherical near-field antenna measurements. Jesper was also responsible for establishing DTU’s cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) resulting in the establishment of the DTU-ESA Spherical Near-Field Antenna Test Facility; and together with Niels Christian Albertsen and Niels Eilskov Jensen, he founded the company TICRA in 1971. In recognition of his work, Jesper received AMTA´s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1991.
Jesper E. Hansen was a gentle and most respected scientist and teacher, always loyal and supportive to his colleagues and students - and always very modest about his own accomplishments. He was for many years an eminent Head of the Antenna Group at the Electromagnetics Institute. Jesper was excellent not only in his professional field, he was highly interested and most knowledgeable also in arts, history, music, and ornithology – and he was a very skilled piano player. Jesper leaves his daughter Louise, his son Ulrik, and four grandchildren.
Joe Pape
1941 - 2021
Joe Pape, “the Father of AMTA”, passed away on September 20, 2021. Joe was the prime mover in organizing and establishing the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA). In 1978, Joe held several organizing committee meetings across the US with the goal of forming a Scientific-Atlanta users group. However, it became clear that a broader organization, dedicated to state-of-the-art antenna measurements, was needed. Joe got strongly behind this, and as a result, AMTA’s first meeting was held in Atlanta, GA in the fall of 1979. Joe’s constant support and efforts were the major reason for AMTA’s early success...Read More
Eric Walton
1944 - 2020
Eric Keller Walton, age 76, died on Thursday, June 25, 2020 after a two-year battle with cancer. Eric was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up in Pittman then Glassboro, New Jersey, son of the late Paul and Mathilde Walton. He was preceded in death by his brother David Walton. Eric was always fascinated by science and nature and thrived on learning and discovery. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Delaware and went on to complete his PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois. Eric joined The Ohio State University in 1977 and retired as Senior Research Scientist in 2014. Working at the OSU Electrical Engineering department's ElectroScience Lab, he specialized in radio and radar signal analysis. He holds 21 patents. Eric served as an instructor and mentor, guiding PhD students as they pursued research and worked to complete their degrees. He was an IEEE Fellow, and longtime member of The Antenna Measurement Techniques Association (AMTA).
The AMTA has been the keystone of his professional career: For the Antenna Measurement Techniques Association, he served as Vice-Chairman in 1987 and 1988, and President in 1989. In 1992, he was host for the AMTA Meeting in Columbus, Ohio. In 2007, he was chosen as a Fellow of the AMTA, and in 2008, he received the AMTA Distinguished Achievement Award. He received the AMTA Distinguished Service Award in 2017. For many years, he served as Chairman of the Student Paper Awards Committee and served as the Chairman of the Student Travel Award Committee. In 2019, Eric was recognized as an Honorary Life Member, the highest honor AMTA can bestow...Read More
