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Dr. Stu Horn Program Manager

Stuart Horn is a Program Manager in the Microsystems Technology Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Arlington, VA. Stuart Horn received a BS in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, in 1967, an MS in Physics from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1970, and a PhD in Physics from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in 1974. He began his professional career at the Naval Ordinance Lab, White Oak, Maryland in 1967 as a physicist working on explosives research and came to NVESD at Fort Belvoir in 1968 as a research Physicist working on the development of small cryogenic coolers. As a Group Leader, he conceived, and developed the Split Stirling cooler which he later received a patent on. This became the standard common module cooler for the small 1st Generation Common Module Systems. In 1973, he and his group were transitioned to the Systems Division to help get the common module components into production and help establish second sources. He received the NVESD Technical Achievement of the year award for this accomplishment. He further improved the cryogenic cooler in 1981 by inventing a linear drive version that substantially increased the MTBF and reduced acoustic noise. This became the standard cyrogeic cooler for the second generation FLIR program.

In 1986, Dr. Horn became the Team Chief for the Automation and Applications Team, where he developed a feature level fusion program and an improved payload for the Apache and LHX Helicopters.

In 1987, Dr. Horn became the Team Chief for the Uncooled Device Development Team, where he set up an in-house uncooled material capability, and won a $30 million DOD BTI initiative. Using this money, he pushed this technology and came up with the first small higher performing thermal rifle sight and missile seeker sensor.

In 1994, Dr. Horn became the Branch Chief for the Infrared Technology Branch and established an in-house capability to grow HgCdTe material as well as labs for studying cooled and uncooled detectors. He also competed for Dual Use Army money and won about $50 million for mostly uncooled sensors. He also won Dual use money for SWIR tube development. Uncooled sensors now were a significant competing technology for the manportable camera market as a result and were transitioned to the System’s Divisions.

In 1998, Dr. Horn was promoted to Division Senior Scientist working on developing a low light level solid state imaging sensor for overcast starlight conditions, developing Third Generation cooled sensors, and managing congressional plus up money for cooled third generation detectors and two and three dimensional laser imaging. In 2005, Dr. Horn retired from the Government after 38 years and became a rehired annuitant for NVESD.

Dr. Horn has been an Army member of DOD reliance panel, Army study committees, TTCP, MSS program committee, and AGED working groups. He has over 40 publications and 19 patents. He established national workshops on low temperature high performance thermoelectric coolers, smart sensors, and third generation sensors. Dr. Horn has been invited to give talks at universities, conferences, and industry.