John Dwyer

Education

  • B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 1979

Professional Registration

  • 1984 / Electrical Engineer / Colorado / 22231
  • 1989 / Electrical Engineer / New Mexico / 10939

Memberships

  • Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
  • IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society
  • IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society
  • American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC)

Employment History

March 1996 - Present

Timberline Engineering, Inc.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Principal Engineer

May 1991 - March 1996

Leedshill-Herkenhoff, Inc.(now ASCG, Inc.)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Senior Engineer, Control Systems

June 1986 - May 1991

Alliance Technolgies, Inc.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Engineering Manager

June 1983 - June 1986

GTE Sprint Communications Corporation
Dallas, Texas / McLean, Virginia
Supervisor, Broadband Engineering

May 1979 - June 1983

Mountain Bell Telephone Company
Albuquerque, New Mexico / Denver Colorado
Engineer, Radio Engineering Center

Presentations and Publications

  • Presentation titled “Implementation of a QML (Qualified Manufacturers List) Methodology for Discrete Semiconductors,” GOMAC Conference, November 1990
  • White paper titled “Mitigation of Corrosion,” March 2002

Other

  • Born, Key West, Florida
  • Resident, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Since 1963
  • Past Certification: Radiation Safety Officer, State of New Mexico

General Overview

John has more than 35 years of broad practical experience in Electrical Engineering. He is presently a principal Engineer with responsibility for system evaluation, analysis and design. He has expertise in system engineering including needs assessment, requirements definition, alternative analysis, functional decomposition, system design description, quantitative and risk-based decision analysis, system specification, testing, and construction observation. John has applied this expertise to the design of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, telemetry and telecommunications systems, and security systems.

John has worked extensively in Los Alamos, both with Los Alamos County and with Los Alamos National Laboratory. John was one of the lead engineers on the Los Alamos Water SCADA system, originally designed for LANL and later transferred to Los Alamos County. After the County took over the SCADA System, John assisted the County in performing radio system upgrades. In addition, he performed a radio system study to upgrade the County’s microwave communications system.

Technical Overview

John is a Principal Engineer involved in all projects at Timberline. Throughout John’s career, his experience has been related to specialties that are directly applicable to SCADA, communications, and security system design. John’s communications system experience has spanned the evolution of equipment from being predominantly analog technology to almost exclusively digital technology. During this transition, he was involved with changing requirements for propagation analysis, site selection, equipment specification, and test and acceptance procedures. During his time with Mountain Bell he had the opportunity to work closely with Bell Laboratories and developed detailed documentation for operation of their remote data acquisition system (PQUARK), which was used for digital transmission testing at remote microwave repeater sites. In addition, John developed an algorithm for obstruction fading predictions and directed the development of a baseband equalizer for use within GTE SPRINT.

Building on his communications experience acquired at Mountain Bell and GTE SPRINT, John directed an engineering team it the development, verification, and implementation, of semiconductor characterization programs for Sandia National Laboratories. This effort required strict adherence to military standard test procedures and the development of specialized test configurations for components that were to state-of–the-art for standard procedures to exist. These specialized configurations required software and hardware development to automate the measurement and data acquisition process. These test systems were optimized and verified by applying statistical process control techniques to the acquired data and the results used to support the configuration management program applied to these tests.

John’s career experiences have been uniquely applied to SCADA and communications system evaluation, analysis, and design. His telecommunication background provides Timberline Engineering with strength in an area that is typically weak for most SCADA consulting engineers.

Project Listings

SCADA Projects

The following are examples of projects representing John’s technical experience in SCADA system design.

  • Kauai Department of Water, County of Kauai, Lihue, Kauai, HI: Phase 1 and 2 SCADA System Study, Design and Construction Support Services.
  • City of Milpitas, Milpitas, CA: Phase I, II, and III Water/Wastewater/Stormwater Utility SCADA Study, Design and Construction Support Services
  • Sweetwater Authority, Chula Vista, CA: SCADA System Study and Phase 1 and 2 Design and Construction Support Services.
  • Public Service Company of New Mexico Water Services, Santa Fe, NM: SCADA / Telemetry System Study, Design and Construction Support Services.
  • Sacramento County Water Agency, Sacramento, CA: SCADA System Design and Construction Support Services.
  • Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., Elko, NV: SCADA System Expansion Design and Construction Support Services.
  • University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM: Water SCADA and Equipment Surveillance System Design and Construction Support Services.
  • City of Modesto, Modesto, CA: Water SCADA/Telemetry System Design and Construction Support Services.
  • Santa Ana Pueblo, Bernalillo, NM: Water/Wastewater SCADA System Design and Construction Support Services.
  • Holloman Air Force Base, Alamogordo, NM: Conceptual SCADA System Study.

Communications Projects

The following are examples of projects representing John’s technical experience in communications and telemetry system design.

  • Los Alamos County, Los Alamos NM: Utility Microwave Alternatives Study.
  • Los Alamos County, Los Alamos, NM: SCADA Radio Telemetry Study, Design, and Licensing Services.
  • Public Utilities Commission / Hetch Hetchy Water & Power, City & County of San Francisco, Moccasin, CA: SCADA/Telemetry System Study.
  • Placer County Water Agency, Auburn, CA: SCADA Radio Telemetry Study, Design, and Construction Support Services.
  • US Forest Service, San Juan National Forest: Fire Dispatch radio coverage analysis assessments (17 sites).
  • Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Rancho Cordova, CA: Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Telemetry.
  • Bureau of Land Management, Las Cruces, NM: Radio Communications Study and Site Inventory.
  • Bureau of Land Management, Montrose, CO: Communication Site Assessment.
  • City of Redwood City, Redwood City, CA: SCADA System Telemetry Investigation Services & Alternatives Study.
  • Gallup-McKinley County Schools, Gallup, NM: Digital Microwave Engineering Study.

Security Projects

The following are examples of projects representing John’s technical experience in security system planning and design.

  • University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM: Nuclear Materials Safeguards and Security Upgrades Project – Phase II.
  • University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM: Security System Planning and Technical Support Services.

Other Experience

The following are examples of projects John was involved in and experience gained throughout his career before working for Timberline.

  • Contra Costa Water District, Concord, CA radio replacement project including interference analyses to ensure reliable communications, with primary focus on propagation analysis, path design, and system engineering and insuring that the new digital equipment interfaces properly with the existing SCADA system and that cutover has minimal impact on water system operations.
  • Nextel Communications cellular radio project in Elk Grove, CA involving RF intermodulation analyses and coordination of multiple cellular and MAS users at a common tower site.
  • Dam Filling Notification System designed for the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority in Albuquerque, NM.
  • Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District spread spectrum MAS radio and SCADA system, a turnkey design-construct project which supported a 30-mile pipeline serving users along the Front Range between Loveland and Denver, CO, including the Carter Lake gates and flow control stations along the pipeline.
  • Digital microwave path survey reports and RF exposure studies in the 18 and 23 GHz bands for Bell Atlantic Mobile, a cellular radio service provider.
  • Remote telemetry and control system for the Stockton (CA) East Water District’s Goodwin Tunnel project, including solar-powered flowmeter station at the tunnel outlet and remote control for the tunnel inlet gate controllers, and fiber optic cable-in-duct through the tunnel.
  • Semiconductor component characterization programs for Sandia National Laboratories. The scope of this effort included special application test setups, operation and correlation of automatic test equipment and fixtures, and technical software development for data acquisition and equipment control. Specific technical support included implementation of systems for test procedures, equipment operation certifications, radiation safety certification, and the design of support facilities.
  • Long-haul digital microwave radio and fiber optic design with GTE Sprint (US Sprint), including route planning, site selection and development, frequency coordination, and system installation and startup.
  • Short-haul analog and digital microwave radio design with Mountain Bell Telephone, including route planning, site selection and development, frequency coordination, and system installation and startup.