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Norm Crump
I am a retired Senior R&D Engineer/Engineering Mgr./Corporate Senior Mantech Project Engineer involved in both EE, Welding Processes, Magnetics and Insulation systems, implanted medical devices, Aerospace vehicles and miltary and Naval hardware.
Prior to that I was one of the 1500 airmen given the special Electronics Engineer technical training to equip us to become airborne radar system mechanics/operators on board such aircraft as the Heavy B36 A bombers of SAC, etc. I was fortunate in that this early AF training got me into the advancement of computer controlled operations and systems which gave me a bit of success professionally.
Of my contributions, I am most proud of the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc Automatic Computer controlled weld system for the Space Shuttle, the discovery of the best way to weld titanium outside a vacuum which made possible the SR71, the titanium heart pacemaker case, the titanium hip joint which I made the tooling for, and the coinvention of the Tektran Arc Welding Robots with E. Leslie Toth now deceased.
At Westinghouse, I was initially in the Long Range Major Development Division of the Power Transformer Division; however, we took on superconductivity work, Long Range Radar Regulated Power supplies, the Quiet Nuclear Submarine Power supply program, the Nuclear Submarine Welding improvement program initiated after the Thresher sinking caused bad a bad braze joint which led to other developments such as Aerospace and Armored vehicle programs.
I am a Life Gold Member of AWS and Life Senior member of IEEE. I was fortunate to have survived a lot of major things that happened that affected national security including the 1952 Labor Day Disaster that damaged 105 out of 106 of our long range A bomber fleet the loss of which jeopardized the nation until repairs were completed within 2 months.
The advancements in the knowledge of Physics, Engineering, Computerization/Automation, airplane and vehicle design have been mind boggling. From being the son of the builder of the first radio set in Morganton NC so he and his friend Sam Ervin could hear the Joe Louis Max Smelling fight to seeing the first moon pictures of Saturn and Mars, I feel like a voyager in history.
Prior to that I was one of the 1500 airmen given the special Electronics Engineer technical training to equip us to become airborne radar system mechanics/operators on board such aircraft as the Heavy B36 A bombers of SAC, etc. I was fortunate in that this early AF training got me into the advancement of computer controlled operations and systems which gave me a bit of success professionally.
Of my contributions, I am most proud of the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc Automatic Computer controlled weld system for the Space Shuttle, the discovery of the best way to weld titanium outside a vacuum which made possible the SR71, the titanium heart pacemaker case, the titanium hip joint which I made the tooling for, and the coinvention of the Tektran Arc Welding Robots with E. Leslie Toth now deceased.
At Westinghouse, I was initially in the Long Range Major Development Division of the Power Transformer Division; however, we took on superconductivity work, Long Range Radar Regulated Power supplies, the Quiet Nuclear Submarine Power supply program, the Nuclear Submarine Welding improvement program initiated after the Thresher sinking caused bad a bad braze joint which led to other developments such as Aerospace and Armored vehicle programs.
I am a Life Gold Member of AWS and Life Senior member of IEEE. I was fortunate to have survived a lot of major things that happened that affected national security including the 1952 Labor Day Disaster that damaged 105 out of 106 of our long range A bomber fleet the loss of which jeopardized the nation until repairs were completed within 2 months.
The advancements in the knowledge of Physics, Engineering, Computerization/Automation, airplane and vehicle design have been mind boggling. From being the son of the builder of the first radio set in Morganton NC so he and his friend Sam Ervin could hear the Joe Louis Max Smelling fight to seeing the first moon pictures of Saturn and Mars, I feel like a voyager in history.
