Dr. Wade Dyer and Paul Manz

It is with great pleasure that the Precision Strike Association presents the Richard H. Johnson Award to Dr. Wade Dyer and Mr. Paul Manz. The Johnson Award is recognition of outstanding personal technical achievements resulting in significant contribution to precision strike systems. We are honored to award the Johnson trophy to two technical innovators, leaders and mentors who each helped shape a generation of precision systems, and younger engineers who continue with their own contributions.

 

Dr. Wade Dyer

For over forty years Dr. Wade Dyer has been an extraordinary missile guidance designer, making significant contributions to systems of critical importance to US warfighting.  Wade’s contributions can be found in a who’s who of precision guided missiles including the first all-digital guidance and control implementation for a tactical missile (HARM 1974.)  He also contributed to designs of Paveway, JSOW, Javelin, ERGM, Excalibur, Seek-Spinner, Tacit Rainbow, CLGP, GBU-15 All Weather Upgrade and Shrike.    Wade’s design prowess extends beyond precision missile systems and guidance designs and includes radar fire control systems. 

Wade always made time to mentor engineers and pass along the skills of his craft.   Wade is responsible for and has passed along many advancements in missile guidance design, developing effective methods for the control of unstable airframes.  He invented guidance design methods resulting in enhanced precision and extracted information from sensor systems in ways not done before.  

Dr. Dyer is a graduate of SMU, Stanford, and Rice.  He is a Fellow at L-3 and Texas Instruments and Senior Principal Fellow at Raytheon.  Dr. Dyer is a recognized expert in body-fixed guidance, error-tolerant radar guidance algorithms and nonlinear guidance and autopilot design.  Today Wade is in demand as a consultant to solve the most difficult and constrained guidance design problems.

We are honored to award the Johnson trophy to a technical innovator, leader and mentor who helped shape a generation of precision systems, and younger engineers who continue with their own contributions. 

October 28, 2015

 

Paul Manz

Paul C. Manz currently serves as Chief Scientist for PEO Ammunition overseeing technology investments for a $3B+ munitions and armaments portfolio. As a senior Army Acquisition professional, his noteworthy career spans over three decades across the entire materiel development life cycle from science and technology through production and deployment with major recognized contributions across the Joint Munitions, Battle Command, Fire Support, Information Technology, Enterprise Architecture, Systems Engineering, and Electronic Devices communities. He has a MPA and BSEE, is an IEEE Senior Member and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and recipient of the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara. He has authored and presented numerous papers/articles and currently holds seven patents.

We are honored to award the Johnson trophy to a long time technical innovator, mentor, and leader in Precision Strike technologies, most notably GPS advancements.

October 28, 2015