Professional Experience |
| 1998–Present | Director of Electro-Optical Systems Engineering & Chief Electro-Optical Engineer, Optical Research Associates |
| 1985–1998 | Director of Electro-Optical Systems Engineering & Director of East Coast Office, Optical Research Associates |
| 1984–1985 | Manager, Optical Systems Engineering, Itek Optical Systems, Litton Industries |
| 1976–1983 | Manager, Environmental Effects, Itek Corporation |
| 1972–1976 | Manager, Thermos-Optical Engineering Section, Itek Corporation |
| 1968–1972 | Manager, Thermos-Optical Engineering Group, Itek Corporation |
| 1965–1968 | Senior Engineer, Itek Corporation |
Education |
| 1969–Present | Graduate Courses at Northeastern University in Advanced Optics and Management. Certificate-Optical Design/UCLA |
| 1966 | M.S. Degree in Structural Mechanics, Northeastern University |
| 1966 | Certificate, Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Summer Session |
| 1964 | B.A. Degree in Experimental Psychology, Tufts University |
| 1964 | B.S. Degree in Structural Analysis, Tufts University |
Mr. Kahan is expert in systems engineering, error budgeting, the interdisciplinary modeling of environmental effects on optical systems, materials/stability, radiate loads/shielding and aircraft windows/boundary layers. This has included performance accountability, research, computer code development and technology assessments from the UV to the IR in environments from underwater to outer space. |
| He has served as the Lead Optical/Systems Engineer or as Chief Engineer from design through manufacture for nearly a dozen multi-million dollar programs of high optical engineering content. This has included contracted consulting to various companies and countries. As part of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) he has helped configure architectures and designs of survivable sensors from the boost phase through terminal defense. This work has included successful roles as Program Manager/Chief Engineer including responsibility for optical configurations, packaging, layout, optical engineering, lens design, coating, thermal and structural analysis, contamination control and off-axis rejection. Solar outage, laser threats, scanning methods, spectral agility, ensquared energy/resolution, false alarm rate, signal/noise ratio and cross talk were some of the issues or performance trade-off criteria. He was Chief Engineer of the cryogenic IR TEAL RUBY optical system. He was Lead Systems Engineer for a large classified multi-mode system and on adaptive optics-wavefront sensors. His functional responsibilities on optics extend from conceptual design through flight hardware and include technical support to new business development, the setting of optical/design requirements, contract end item specifications, interface control drawings, design reviews, and support to test plans and procedures and selected breadboards. His project commitments have been extensive and include successful lead engineering roles on wide angle lenses, star sensors, long range oblique reconnaissance cameras, various tracking/zoom/x-ray telescopes, submarine periscopes, retroreflector arrays such as ALSEP/LAGEOS, Apollo, Skylab, Viking, HEL systems, E-O/image processing, remote sensing, LIDAR's, laser diagnostics, and laser communication. He also generated algorithms for preliminary estimates of weight, power, and cost of optical hardware. Recently, he has served as an Advisor to the Hubble Space Telescope Board of Investigation, functioning as Optics Lead for HST Redesign Effort. |
As Itek's Manager of Optical Systems Engineering he directed an interdisciplinary department of chief optical engineers and systems engineers with full technical and managerial cognizance. He structured IR&D efforts, recruited/developed personnel and was involved in software development (including preliminary plans for an artificial intelligence system). |
Awards/Honors |
| 1987 | Fellow, SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
| 1978 | Itek Engineer of the Year Award |
| 1977 | NASA Commendation for Viking |
| 1976 | NASA Commendation for LAGEOS |
Patents |
| Three pending (HEL Optics Athermalization, Novel Focus Control Method, Image Processing Concept). |
Publications |
| "First-order Thermo-optical and Optomechnical Wavefront Error Analysis," (with N. W. Wallace) Presented at SPIE Lens and Optomechnical Modeling and Design Conference, 1997. |
| "Introduction to Electro-Optical Systems Engineering," SPIE, Tufts Course U7, 1986. |
| "Thermo-Optical Engineering, Methods and Applications,"JOSA A, Vol. 2, No. 13, p. 4, 1985. |
| Editor, "Optics in Adverse Environments," SPIE, Vol. 216, 1980. |
| "Teal Ruby-Design, Manufacture, and Test," (with J. Pepi, W. Barnes, and R. Zielinski), SPIE, Vol. 216, p. 160, 1980. |
| "Optics in a Hostile Environment," E-O/Laser, 1977. |
| "Optical Materials," E-O/Laser, 1978. |
| "Optical Athermalization," OSA, 1970. |
| "Structural and Environmental Effects on Aerospace Optics," Masters Thesis, Northeastern University, Boston, Mass., 1966. |
| "Optical Testing and Verification on HST," Optics & Photonics News, p. 28, November 1993. |
| Numerous company confidential and/or U.S. Government classified reports. |
Professional Societies |
| Fellow, SPIE—The International Society for Optical Engineering |
| Member, OSA—Optical Society of America |
| Member, American/Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Structural and Engineering Mechanics Divisions |
| Reviewer (past Associate Editor) of Optical Engineering, SPIE |
| Member and past Councilor, Secretary, Vice President, President and Chairman of Executive Council of New England Section, OSA; Optics Lecturer |
| Director-Massachusetts Engineers' Council; Advisor to House/Senate/U of MA |