Jason O. Burkholder

Dr. Burkholder received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2010, an M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 1997, and a B.S. degree in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1995. His dissertation involved the design of adaptive diagnostic algorithms that tolerate changing system dynamics during the normal equipment aging process while maintaining fault sensitivity.

From 1998 to 2003, Dr. Burkholder worked for Sperry Marine, a unit of Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation. At Sperry Marine, he was a control systems and software engineer in the Navigation and Controls department, where he designed, coded, and tested at sea new control algorithms and adaptive tuning algorithms that are now included in Sperry Marine’s commercial autopilots. He also wrote and validated ship simulations for numerous commercial and military vessels, including DDG 51 and LPD 17 class ships. These models are used for the purposes of autopilot and track control algorithm development and testing as well as for LPD 17 Steering and Integrated Bridge System Operator Training. Dr. Burkholder served as Project Lead for the CG 47 Class Steering and Integrated Bridge System upgrade and the LHD/7 modernized steering system development. In addition, he served as control systems engineer for Sperry Marine’s active fin stabilizer product and wrote ship and control system simulations to predict and evaluate fin stabilizer performance and recommend appropriate fin sizes for new ship designs. His work on steering and track control systems provided opportunities to ride numerous commercial and military vessels around the world for the purposes of evaluating and improving Sperry Marine’s heading and track control systems and roll stabilization systems. In December 2001, Dr. Burkholder received the Sperry Marine Engineering Excellence Award, an annual award recognizing the Company’s outstanding young engineer.