AFWERX, the Air Force framework that seeks to expand technology and talent and transition partnerships to deliver rapid and affordable commercial and military capabilities, recently awarded two Small Business Technology Transfer (Phase 1) contracts to Verus Research.

Streamlined Data-Driven Anomaly Detection, an award in conjunction with the University of Colorado Boulder, will develop satellite anomaly detection software using machine learning. This includes designing onboard data management software to begin to deploy autonomous data and fault management services for satellites. The work will support the Air Force Research Laboratory’s small satellite portfolio, autonomy group, and space security and defense program.

The second effort, Assured and Autonomous Coordinated Inspection, an award in conjunction with the University of Texas at Austin, will provide coordinated satellite control software that will enable autonomous satellite operations. Using this tool, multiple satellites will work together autonomously to achieve a common goal with safety and performance assurances built into the solution. This research will support the U.S. Space Force’s Space & Missile Systems Center.

The U.S. Air Force is conducting operational testing in Africa of the Tactical High-Power Microwave Operational Responder (THOR) electromagnetic weapon to protect air bases by disabling drones or swarms of drones. An AFRL team, including BAE Systems and Albuquerque-based Verus Research, developed THOR. Please visit Defense Daily to see the full report.

Verus Research announces the appointment of Grady Patterson as its new chief executive officer.  Effective October 1, 2021, Patterson’s year-long transition to CEO is one component of an advanced planning campaign designed to anticipate and meet the needs of a rapidly scaling and dynamic organization.

“Verus Research has evolved since its founding nearly seven years ago.  It’s time for a new generation of leadership to take the helm and guide the company through the next stage of innovation and growth,” said Wheaton (Tony) Byers, chief executive officer for Verus Research.  “This promotion has been in the works since the creation of the company and I am excited to begin the transition process with Grady.  I am confident in his ability to lead Verus Research as it continues to provide cutting-edge solutions to our customers and incredible opportunities to our employees.”

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to lead this impressive and talented group of individuals.  We have an excellent leadership team in place to collaboratively develop and deliver innovative solutions to our customers,” said Patterson.  “Tony and I will work closely together over the next year to prepare for the change in leadership, while we both continue to support our external and internal stakeholders.”

Byers will transition to a new role as senior director of development in the office of the chief technology officer.  He will focus on creating mid- to long-range opportunities for growth of the enterprise and its employees, as well as scientific creative advancement.  “I am thrilled that Tony will continue to support the organization through his passion for technology creation, providing cutting-edge solutions for our customers.  The fact that he’ll be available to support this exciting and growing organization will make for a seamless transition of leadership,” added Patterson.

To replace Patterson, Dan Treibel, will take over as chief operating officer on October 1, 2021.  Joining Verus Research in 2014 as systems engineer, Triebel has served as one of the company’s technical directors and the company’s senior director in charge of the Sensors and Instrumentation group.   Treibel and Patterson will work closely together during the next year in order to guarantee a smooth transition.  They will preserve and build on the initiatives and policies Patterson and his team have set in place at Verus Research.

“Grady has done an excellent job overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations and positioning us for continued growth.  We will work together to ensure a smooth handoff for the COO position during the year-long transition period,” said Treibel.  “Leading the Verus Research Sensors and Instrumentation group, I bring a strong understanding of company operations to the role.  I will collaborate with Grady to build upon our practices and policies to benefit our employees and continue to deliver exceptional results on behalf of our clients.”

Patterson began working for Verus Research in 2015 and served as a technical director and chief operating officer.  Before joining Verus Research, Patterson worked in several different positions including senior engineer and development lead at TechFlow, Inc.’s Scientific Division, high power microwave modeling and simulation program manager at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (now, Leidos), and he completed a four-year active duty assignment with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s high power microwave division.

Patterson continues to serve in the military as a lieutenant colonel in the South Carolina Air National Guard as well as the commander of the 169th Maintenance Operations Flight at McEntire Joint National Guard Base.  A longtime supporter of his community, he has founded two nonprofit organizations focused on increasing educational opportunities for students, and also serves on multiple other nonprofit boards.  Patterson received his Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico and his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Davidson College in North Carolina.

Verus Research has for the third year running been named one of New Mexico’s fastest growing private companies of any type. Selected in the “large size” category, Verus Research ranks 6th among companies in annual revenue growth measured from 2017 through 2019. Honorees must also be privately held, for-profit companies and be locally owned and based in New Mexico.  We hope you’ll see the detailed coverage in Albuquerque Business First.

For the fifth consecutive year, Verus Research is a Flying 40 honoree. And, for the 2nd straight year, Verus Research earned the top spot among firms with more than $10 million in revenue, posting 519% growth since 2015. The Sandia Science & Technology Park Development Corp. Flying 40 program recognizes the fastest growing technology companies in New Mexico. Please visit the Albuquerque Journal for coverage.

Verus Research announces the restructuring of the organization to support its rapid growth and clients through the formation of new organizational units, including High Power Systems, Sensors and Instrumentation and Software Development and Applications.  Each unit will be run by a newly appointed senior director and includes specific technical portfolios to support the business groups.

“We are thrilled to announce that we are restructuring the company and the leadership team due to our recent growth and as we continue to meet and exceed our customer’s expectations,” said Wheaton “Tony” Byers, chief executive officer for Verus Research.  “The restructuring will better equip Verus Research to execute cross-domain projects, provide more opportunities for future growth and help us solve complex problems for our clients.”

Verus Research promoted four executives to the role of senior director to manage each of the new business units.  Dr. Matt Domonkos was appointed as senior director of High Power Systems; Dan Treibel will assume the role of senior director for Sensors and Instrumentation; and Walter Clover will be senior director of Software Development and Applications.  Dr. Sameer Hemmady was also promoted to senior director of Advanced Concepts.

High Power Systems, led by Domonkos, will focus on directed energy test and evaluation, applied nuclear research, and systems engineering and development.  The group will equip end users with non-lethal counter-electronics capabilities.  With an emphasis on pulsed power-driven higher-power microwave (HPM) systems, it will help develop new cross-discipline HPM and plasma science applications.

Treibel’s Sensors and Instrumentation unit will manage delivery of customer requirements in the electronic warfare, applied electronics, and space and autonomy domains.

The new Software Development and Applications group will provide research and development in modeling and simulation architectures, directed energy weapons, computational electromagnetics, and embedded systems and controls.  Managed by Clover, it creates cross-platform software with applications from hardware interfacing and control, uses advanced tools for complex geometrical visualizations, generates simulations, and produces dynamic graphical user interfaces.

In addition, Hemmady will lead the Advanced Concepts group which anticipates the challenges and needs of Verus Research clients.  Under his leadership, it will influence future concepts and address the technical issues and requirements necessary for customer success in the years to come.

“Verus Research’s new corporate structure will allow us to continue to solve our customers’ problems and provide more efficient means of capturing, executing, and leveraging opportunities as we look towards the company’s future and the success of our clients,” said Byers.

Microwaves & RF is exploring Verus Research’s recent award under the TEN-K contract. You can find the coverage at https://www.mwrf.com/markets/defense/article/21143743/army-signs-verus-research-for-ew-and-directedenergy-simulation.

Sensors and Systems has coverage of Dr. John Aurand’s posting as Verus Research senior technical fellow. We invite you to take a look at https://sensorsandsystems.com/verus-research-announces-the-hiring-of-john-aurand-ph-d-as-senior-technical-fellow/.

Verus® Research is proud to announce the appointment of John F. Aurand, Ph.D. to senior technical fellow.  In his new role, Aurand will be supporting the company’s research and development efforts in applied electromagnetics.

“We are thrilled to welcome John to our award-winning team of scientists and engineers,” said Dr. J. Mark DelGrande, chief technology officer for Verus Research.  “He has extensive experience in the electromagnetics field and will be working across the company’s related technical portfolios.  We are honored to have him as a part of Verus Research’s developing, innovative and creative solutions for our customers’ most challenging technical problems.”

Aurand joins Verus Research from Raytheon Missiles & Defense as an engineering fellow.  At Raytheon, he was a recognized leader in contributing to the development of new high-power microwave (HPM) systems to protect U.S. warfighters.  He received a corporate award for his critical and enabling role in developing and fielding the PHASER HPM Demonstrator system.

Aurand’s experience includes working at ITT Corp. as senior principal RF scientist.  He was a research professor at the University of New Mexico, and a principal member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories.  His career includes extensive experimental microwave work and development of ultra‑wideband antennas and radar systems.  Aurand has electrical engineering degrees from Iowa State University including a Bachelor of Science degree with honors and distinction, a Master of Science degree, and a Doctoral degree.

Aurand has received numerous awards throughout his career.  He has served as a member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) and International Union of Radio Science (URSI) commissions in several areas of electromagnetics.  He holds a U.S. patent for a novel ultra‑wideband antenna, and currently has a patent application submitted for a waveguide device.

“I am honored to join Verus Research in order to provide technical expertise to our engineering developments,” said John Aurand, Ph.D., senior technical fellow for Verus Research. “I look forward to working with our team, and together developing innovative results for our clients.”

KRQE News reporter Jami Seymore broadcast a story on the recent Verus Research contract award on TEN-K. We invite you to see the coverage here.