Career History

OpusTek International Corporation   (1/2006 - Present)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
President

OpusTek International Corporation, (OpusTek), provides Management, System Engineering and Integration solutions for it's Government and Industrial customers. Past support includes NASA, DoD, and other commercial ventures. OpusTek is a resident in MIT's Cambridge Innovation Center and works closely with the MIT Entrepreneurship Center . OpusTek performs research and development across a broad range of engineering disciplines for their Government and commercial customers. NAICS Classifications: 541-330, 541-430, 541-511, 541-512, 541-513, 541-611, 541-612, 541-613, 541614, 541-618, 541-620, 541-690, 541-710, 611-420, 541-430, and 611-621.

Corporate Capabilities:

• SBA registered Small Business
• Systems Engineering and Integration
• Data and Information Systems
• Intelligent / Adaptive Systems
• Operations Research
• RADAR and Communication Systems Engineering
• EMI / EMC Studies
• Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAV / UAS)
• RADAR and Communications systems
• Space and Earth Science
• Remote / In Situ Sensors
• Bio- / Alternative Energy Solutions
• Facilities Programming / Management
• Procurement Management
• Financial & Operations Management Systems

Institute for Scientific Research, Inc.   (06/1999 - 01/2006)
Fairmont , WV
President and CEO

The Institute for Scientific Research, Inc., (ISR), performed cutting-edge research and development across a variety of scientific and engineering disciplines for their Government and commercial customers. As President and CEO, Niewoehner recruited and led a diverse team of 100 full time business and scientific professionals managing operations of roughly $40 M per year. In addition to executing a broad range of research initiatives, ISR successfully executed a state-of-the-art research facility construction initiative ($135 M & 263,000 square-feet) mixed use facility which was completed on schedule during the third quarter 2006.

Accomplishments:

• Responsible for overall leadership, executive management, strategic planning, marketing, sales, staff development, organization development, and operational results
• Organized corporate governance function / recruiting of Board of Directors
• Chaired Executive and Finance committees
• Developed corporate systems for financial management, business forecasting, accounting, recruiting, business development, performance planning, performance management, project management and ethics training
• Defined program, logistics, and work flow for 263,000 sf state-of-the-art multi-purpose ISR headquarters building
• Developed Design-Build solicitation and selection process which led to Design-Build team selection and award
• Managed interdisciplinary research portfolio
• Developed diversified customer base (Defense, National Security, Civilian Government, Commercial)
• Negotiated and closed over $30M in public – private financing
• 2005 Results
• Gross Assets: $ 109.7 M
• Net Assets: $ 72.2 M
• Gross Revenue: $ 40.2 M

NASA Headquarters, Office of Earth Science   (10/1990 - 06/1999)
Washington, DC
Program Executive (GS-15)

NASA Headquarters exercises management over NASA's space flight centers, research centers, and other installations that constitute NASA. Responsibilities of Headquarters cover the determination of programs and project; establishment of management policies, procedures, and performance criteria; evaluation of progress; and the review and analysis of all phases of the aerospace program.

Accomplishments:

• Executive Director of Institute for Software Research (NASA TDY assignment)
• Developed business plan for start up business (Software research and development)
• Recruited organizational Board of Directors
• Responsible for all operational phases of the Institute for Software Research (ISR) including strategic planning, business development, etc.
• Established new corporate entity including developing Articles of Incorporation and Corporate Bylaws
• Planned and organized Organizational Board of Directors Meeting
• Planned, organized and directed the development of the Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) –Announcement of Opportunity – 1 (AO / mission solicitation)
• Office of NASA Chief Engineer – ELV / RLV launch systems review panel
• Chaired solicitation and proposal evaluation process
• Integrated evaluation team composed of ~70 senior scientists, engineers, and program analysts. ESSP solicitation and evaluation process was adopted as the baseline for $1.4B/year Earth Science Enterprise, and modeled subsequently for overall NASA AO process
• Two step solicitation produced 44 initial proposals aimed at 2 space mission development opportunities
• Evaluation concluded with the selection of the Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) mission (University of Maryland ) and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission ( University of Texas – Austin )
• Conducted lessons learned conference based on the results of ESSP- AO1
• Formulated and issued ESSP – AO2
• Formulated and managed the Theseus UAV technology development program. This $10M program developed a unique UAV capability for use in upper atmospheric research.
• Established the Program Integration Branch within the Flight Systems Division ($750 million/year). This branch integrated office operations, technical and administrative personnel recruitment, strategic planning and policy implementation.
• Planned and organized the Earth Science program requirements for the IV&V Center in Fairmont , WV . This task required the development of a concept of operations for the Earth sciences Data and Information System (EOSDIS) which would take advantage of the IV&V facility's unique data archive capability. Integrated the IV&V facility into the EOSDIS IV&V procurement and participated in the IV&V procurement managerial and technical evaluation.
• Led the formulation, negotiation, and approval of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program Commitment Agreement (PCA) and Project Plan. These two seminal documents established the implementation strategy, program management plan, and system requirements for the $8 billion EOS Program.

Ford Aerospace, Corporation

Space Station Engineering and Integration Contract (SSEIC)(08/1988 - 10/1990)
Greenbelt, MD
NASA Polar Orbiting Platform (NPOP) Project Manager

Ford Aerospace (sold to Loral Corp in 1990) was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company. With annual revenue of $2.1 B, FAC provided engineering services and systems development to the departments of the Federal Government including NASA and DoD. As the major Subcontractor to Grumman Aerospace on the International Space Station Engineering and Integration Contract, FAC provided multidisciplinary technical support to NASA focused on requirements definition, systems engineering trade studies, and systems integration and interface control systems.

Accomplishments:

• Formulated strategy and development of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Program-Level Technical Requirements (PLTR).
• EOS was approved as a $17 billion program “new-start” by the US Congress and signed into law by President Bush in October of 1990
• Authored the Polar Orbiting Platform Transition Plan ($996M).
• The plan was approved in January 1990 by NASA Administrator and resulted in the transfer of the NPOP program management function, and ~$1 B in budget authority, from the Office of Space Flight to the Office of Space Science and Application

Processing Research Incorporated   (09/1987 - 05/1988)
Vienna, Va
Principal Engineer

Processing Research Incorporated was focused on supporting data analyses for the Federal Government's intelligence community.

Designed the RF / IF / Video / data processing subsystems for a spread-spectrum channelized signal processor

Designed processor for signal intercept application

System Planning Corporation   (07/1984 - 09/1987)
Arlington, VA
Principal Engineer

System Planning Corporation addresses the nation's technology requirements through development of innovative high-technology systems and support of government functions. SPC plays a vital role in the analysis and development of U.S. national security initiatives and policy.

Accomplishments:

• Performed systems engineering function including conducting various analyses at the system and sub-system level for ISAR (Inverse Synthetic Aperture RADAR) systems
• Developed models and conducted simulations of near-field / far-field performance for ISAR instrumentation systems and Transmit / Receive apertures
• Performed phase noise and spurious artifact analyses for ISAR systems
• Led the design and development of coherent Intermediate Frequency (3 GHz IF) and Video (DC - 250 MHz) sub-systems for the Mark-IV Instrumentation RADAR system
• Delivered Mark-IV to several major aerospace / airframe customers
• Team Leader / principal engineer for the installation, demonstration tests, and test operations of the Mark-IIA RADAR system on Santa Cruz Island , California .
• Collected extensive quantity of calibrated RADAR Cross Section (RCS) data and related imagery using the Mark-IIA (multi-band ISAR) during multiple test operation periods
• Managed the development of a multi-decadal (10 MHz to 1000 MHz) Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) with Sciteq Corporation

E-Systems, Inc., Melpar   (06/1981 - 07/1984)
Fairfax, VA
Electrical Engineer

E-Systems (Later sold to Raytheon) provided integrated systems, hardware, and software solutions to the defense and national security communities within the Federal Government.

Accomplishments:

• Developed and tested a multi-octave VHF / UHF active phased array antenna for interferometric DF / tactical UAV application; Designed Low Noise Amplifier including BALUN transformer and impedance matching network
• Lead engineer for a microprocessor-based auto-pilot Internal Research and Development (IRAD) project. 8086-based auto-pilot architecture was a derivative of 8085-based prototype developed as an undergraduate at WVU
• Completed project included the hardware systems level software design, development, integration, and testing for use in tactical UAV's
• Primary member of the ELSID (Electro-Magnetic Signal Intercept and DF) UAV design and flight operations team
• Designed, developed, tested, and integrated the UAV power system, power supply, power conditioning, and power distribution system
• Re-designed engine ignition system with OEM following diagnosis of trigger circuit's susceptibility to marginal intrinsic holdover threshold specification (uni-junction transistor (UJT) ignition trigger)
• Served as flight engineer during flight testing in the United States and Middle East

West Virginia Network for Educational Telecomputing   (10/1978 - 05/1981)
Morgantown, WV
Electronic Technician

WVNET is the West Virginia Network, a dynamic service organization providing telecommunications and computing services within West Virginia. WVNET was created in 1975 to provide central computing facilities and wide-area network communications linking its "central site" computing resources in Morgantown with the campus computing systems at most of the colleges and universities throughout the state.

Accomplishments:

• Repaired and maintained terminals, printers, modems, etc. for state-wide computer network
• Diagnosed communication link faults
• Installed mini - computer systems and related communication lines
• Performed installation check-out and memory upgrades for Apple-II desk top computer systems

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Winter 2006)

Sloan School of Management

MIT Entrepreneurship Development Program

George Mason University   (1997)
Master of Business Administration

Beta Gamma Sigma Academic Honors

University of Oxford (Summer 1996)

Kellogg College

Graduate Studies - International and Political Economy

West Virginia University   (1981)
Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering

President (1980/1981) - WV Student Branch of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers)

Civic and Charitable Boards

City of Fairmont - Urban Renewal Authority - Commissioner
Virginia Tech University – Computer Science Advisory Committee Member
West Virginia University – Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Advisory Committee Member
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Aerospace Engineering Advisory Board Member

Fairmont State University – President's Leadership Council Member
International Children's Alliance - Corporate Director

Honors

Headquarters – Exceptional Service Medal

2005 NASA Dryden Flight Research Center – Public Service Group Achievement Award