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.

Verus Research is grateful to Albuquerque Business First and reporter Collin Krabbe for their coverage of the third delivery order awarded on the TEN-K effort.  Their reporting is quoted below.

Verus Research, an Albuquerque engineering firm, has won a multi-million dollar government contract award.

The company, founded in 2014, received a$23.4 million award with the Army on Sept. 15,according to an Order for Supplies or Services obtained by Business First. The award is one of Verus’ largest ever, according to Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director Hank Andrews.

Verus says the award will provide military test ranges with non-kinetic and evaluation capabilities in directed energy and electronic warfare. The work was awarded by the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, according to the company.

The company will also work on solutions for defense against unmanned aerial vehicles, Andrews said in a statement.

The award is Verus’ third under a larger $48 million contract, according to the company.

An Army representative was unable to be reached for immediate comment.

Verus provides a range of services across the fields of electromagnetic applications, embedded systems design and environmental radiation sensing, according to its website. It has also operated under the name XL Scientific.

XL Scientific was obligated $17.8 million by the Department of Defense during the previous year, according to according to government data. It has done work for the Army, Air Force and Navy, according to the government.

Verus recorded more than $16 million in revenue during its 2019 fiscal year. It expects to top $25 million this fiscal year, Andrews said in an interview with Business First.

The company grew dramatically in recent years, reporting revenue growth of 322 percent between 2015 and 2017, according to our List of New Mexico’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Between 2016 and 2018, its revenue reportedly
grew 46 percent.

The firm is also growing its workforce. Verus is in need of engineers and support staff, said Chief Technology Officer J. Mark DelGrande.

Verus hopes to hire about a dozen people during the next year in Albuquerque, Andrews said. It currently employs 96 people, 88 of whom are located in Albuquerque.

The company is also in the midst of an expansion of its facilities. It is adding 14,300 square feet to its Uptown Albuquerque headquarters, more than doubling the size of its offices there.

For the third consecutive year, Verus Research is being honored by Albuquerque Business First as one of New Mexico’s fastest growing, for-profit, private companies. Placing in the “Large Companies” category for the second year, Verus Research’s state-wide ranking will be revealed at the Best In Business Awards ceremony on November 19, 2020.

Verus Research received its third and final major delivery order under the Test & Evaluation Non-Kinetic (TEN-K) contract issued by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation.  The $23.4M, 4-year award furthers the Company’s ongoing efforts to identify and develop innovative, non-kinetic, test & evaluation technologies, capabilities, and instrumentation, and provides the defense community with a means of addressing the complex testing needs of a range of rapidly developing non-kinetic technologies.

Several programs are embedded in this expansive effort, including the High-Power Microwave (HPM) Beam Evaluation Tool (HBET), the Reusable, Recoverable Airborne Experiment (RRAE), Airborne HPM Instrumentation (AirHI), and High Average Power Pulsed (HAPP)

• HBET will support contour mapping of HPM energy to visualize beam profiles for applications to counter unmanned aerial systems.
• In collaboration with the University of New Mexico and General Atomics, RRAE will test HPM source concepts on an airborne platform with a view to crafting operational concepts for future development and employment.
• AirHI will leverage previous Verus Research work on radio frequency sensors to provide instrumentation for real-time feedback from a target platform to testers on the ground.
• HAPP will create two unique microwave source capabilities for the U.S. Navy.

Dr. J. Mark DelGrande, Verus Research’s Chief Technology Officer, noted that “the scope, breadth, and depth of these varied technology developments is a testament to the richness and quality of the diverse technical capabilities that our Team Members have established at Verus Research.”

Verus Research is proud to applaud a new peer-reviewed publication by some of our key technical team members.  The paper authored by Dr. Manuel Alan, Dr. Michael Butcher, Dr. Matthew Domonkos, and Dr. Nicholas Myers is entitled “Verus Research Dense Plasma Focus for Survivability Test and Evaluation” and it appears in the Journal of Radiation Effects, Research, and Engineering.

This marks not only another peer-reviewed publication by our incredible staff, but represents our first publication in the world of radiation effects under the Verus Research banner.  Special thanks go to Technical Director Brian Gorgas who invested a great deal of effort obtaining the government releases necessary to publish this article.

Verus Research’s Director of Research and Development, Dr. Sameer Hemmady, has been selected as a SUMMA Foundation Fellow.  Awarded every two years, the SUMMA Foundation has extended this high honor to Dr. Hemmady and five of his internationally-based technical colleagues as the fellows in the class of 2020.

The SUMMA Foundation was founded in 1973 as a philanthropic organization to promote scientific and educational activities in the study of electromagnetics.  Fellows of the foundation include an impressive group of luminaries in the fields of high-power and transient electromagnetics.

Verus Research is immensely proud of Dr. Hemmady, our colleague and friend, for having earned this prestigious recognition and international renown.

The Office of Naval Research in Arlington, VA, has awarded Verus Research a new contract to apply the Company’s predictive effects methodologies in support of the nation’s cyber mission. The 3-year effort, totaling $430,000 with all options exercised, seeks to develop novel measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) techniques that will influence the susceptibility of electronic targets to radio frequency energy. This program will be performed in collaboration with various stakeholders, including United States Cyber Command.

Chief Technology Officer, Dr. J. Mark DelGrande, noted the award “continues to grow the Company’s efforts in cutting-edge approaches for cyber and electronic warfare . . . and advance the research and development capabilities of Verus Research into new and exciting applications.”

Today, Albuquerque Business First (ABF) announced this year’s “40 Under Forty” award recipients.  Verus Research is proud to note the firm’s Director of Research & Development, Dr. Sameer D. Hemmady, was so honored.  ABF noted that a panel of local business leaders evaluated dozens of nominations, selecting Dr. Hemmady based on his professional achievement, leadership, and community involvement.  Circumstances permitting, Dr. Hemmady and his fellow honorees will be recognized during a dinner and reception on September 30^th.

Of note, Dr. Hemmady joins Grady L. Patterson IV, Verus Research Chief Operating Officer, who previously earned this level of business-community recognition.  Mr. Patterson was honored by Greenville Business Magazine as one of his community’s Best & Brightest Under 35 for 2016.  All Verus Research team members are immensely gratified by our colleagues’ accomplishments.