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Over 30 years experience in a variety of defense-related systems, being called upon to first conceive of novel mathematical algorithms and prototype solutions to problems posed by Department of Defense Navy and Air Force customers for various Kalman filter (optimal and sub-optimal estimation) applications in Inertial Navigation Systems, and its utilization of other augmenting navaids [such as NavSat, Global Positioning System (GPS), Loran, map-matching fix\resets] and in radar target tracking (after first simulating its behavior from available mathematical models in state variable form to then appropriately set parameters and requisite fix rates through rigorous trade-off analyses and performance evaluations). After conceiving of the solutions, we then design and implement these ideas in software, and ultimately test them (using, first, standard unit tests, then integration tests, and, after any subsequent changes, invoking a sequence of regression tests specially tailored to confirm that no desired prior functionality has been clobbered by the latest changes). Prior to the 1990's, prototyped implementations were typically done in FORTRAN 66\77 or in IBM's PL/1 language and then later manually converted to assembly language or machine language for real-time implementation; however, now our initial implementations are in the higher level languages: MatLab 5.3 and\or its Simulink 3.0 adjunct (then afterwards we convert these prototypes using a MatLab-to-C compiler for cross-platform transportability). A frequently used alternative is to implement parts of the solution in Absoft 6.3 or Compaq Visual Fortran 90\95. Microsoft Visual Basic (VB) 3.0, 5.0 & 6.0 and Access '97\2000 are preferred for implementing the Graphical user Interfaces (GUI) since VB's "AppActivate" and "shell" commands can be used to run other new or legacy software executables and *.bat files (and even run old legacy DOS files without any [specifically suppressed] DOS screen appearing as a tip-off to the end user). As a experienced consultant, we have been called upon to debug programs written by others and to write Software Requirement Specifications (SRS) in this our specialty area.
Thomas Kerr III, the founder and CEO of TeK Associates since 1992, received the B.S.E.E. in electronics (magna cum laude) from Howard University and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees (via a National Science Foundation traineeship) in the electrical engineering specialty of control\estimation from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. As an R&D engineer, he has worked in the estimation area for over 30 years on DoD (Poseidon\ Trident) submarines and in aircraft Navigation (failure detection [the mathematical dual to tracking a maneuvering target] and reconfiguration in Navigation systems within owncraft position and attitude determination); has some sonar evaluation Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) experience; has done Global Positioning System (GPS) integration Development Test and Evaluation (DT&E) in submarines and performance monitoring of both of the dually manufactured GPS receivers in the 1980's competition (between Magnovox and Rockwell International-Autonetics) as gauged against Department of Defense (DoD) spec compliance and subsequently investigated use of GPS in novel applications as well. He has also worked in strategic Radar target-tracking; and in some aspects of tactical and strategic Electronic Warfare (EW) pattern recognition applications; gaining experience while previously employed at General Electric Corporate R&D Center in Schenectady, NY ('71-'73); TASC ('73-'79) [later part of Litton, and now part of Northrup Grumman]; Intermetrics, Inc. ('79-'86) [later part of Averstar, and now part of Titan]; and for 6 years ('86-'92) at Lincoln Laboratory of MIT (an Air Force FFRDC); and at TeK Associates ('92-present). The common thread is that almost all of the aforementioned projects and assignments were fundamentally Kalman filter signal processing or closely related model-based estimation theory applications.
Thomas Kerr III now guides TeK Associates, an engineering consulting company, in developing their main software product, TK-MIP™, and in pursuing Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR's) and sub-contracts in the evolving areas of Kalman filter applications for Navigation, Target Tracking, and for Image Processing and Sensor Fusion. He has taught Optimal Control in the graduate E. C. E. Department at Northeastern Univ. in the evenings for four years in the 1990's and has TeK consultant affiliations there and at MIT, and at UCLA. He is versed in FORTRAN77\90, PL/1, IBM Assembly Language, BASIC, and PC MatLab\Simulink (16-bit ver. 4.2.c and 32-bit ver. 6.5 release 13 MatLab and ver. 5.0 Simulink) and also has some experience with Neural Networks (NN) for pattern recognition applications. He is currently becoming familiar with C\C++, C#.NET and WindowsNT out of necessity since TeK Associates is currently developing a low cost PC-based Kalman filter\smoother\ simulator\feedback regulator control software package TK-MIP (demonstrated at IEEE Electro'95 in Boston) for sale commercially that he has authored along with the accompanying internal on-line user manual. His new forte is Visual Basic (versions 3, 5, and 6) for truly compiled executables, *.exe's, using VBX's\OCX's, DLL's, DDE, OLE\COM\ DCOM\ COM+, and the Window's API for snappier performance on the PC under both Windows 9x\ ME and WindowsNT\ Win2K and the associated third party tools. He is also involved in aspects of data acquisition for PC's (e.g., DMA and RS232\PCI\XVI\GPIB databuses and DAQ data acquisition cards and signal conditioning). TeK Associates owns other necessary supporting software tools including a Simulink-to-C cross-compiler and a wide variety of MatLab toolboxes, which he has previously demonstrated to his students at Northeastern University. He is a seasoned presenter of findings and discoveries, as personally prepared and conveyed via PowerPoint®\LaTeX®\Microsoft Word® slides. He has published 120+ peer-reviewed journal papers and company reports summarizing new and innovative results.
His two adult sons also actively participate in the day-to-day activities and developments. His oldest son, Thomas H. Kerr IV, was a U. S. Marine in Information and Communications in Iraq and in the Pacific for 5 years and keeps things humming and in "ship-shape" condition at TeK Associates. His other son, Stephen M. Kerr (B.A. magma cum Laude from Williams College '02, Yale Law 2006), handles the legal issues regarding contracts, and intellectual property rights (trade-marks, copyrights, and patent infringement). Another family member, Aniece R. Kerr, is office manager and handles security, travel, record-keeping, finances, and our ample library of reference and technical books, conference proceedings, and continuing education videos, DVDs\ CD-ROMs, and on-line learning references and searches (and as his wife and an experienced professional school librarian of 30+ years [for the Town of Brookline, now retired] is therefore the defacto head of TeK Associates). [She had previously run her own library at Heath School for many years as a middle school educator also responsible for their networked computers (its server, and its backup) and multimedia visual aids (and their checkout and return and maintenance).] She has a B.A. in history from Tuskegee University ('66), an M.S. in Library Science from Atlanta University ('71), and was in the Peace Corps ('66-'69).
Thomas H. Kerr III, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
CEO\Principal Investigator\Consultant-for-hire\Chief Programmer\Web Master
and may be contacted at
TeK Associates
9 Meriam Street, Suite 7-R
Lexington, MA 02420-5336
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