Founded 1945

Headquarters Northern Virginia

Services Government research and development

Parent Westinghouse Air Brake

American Standard

Raytheon

Melpar was an American government contractor in the 20th century Cold War period. At a time when most employment in Washington, DC was directly by the US federal government, Melpar became an early private sector contracting company training a high technology workforce in the area.

History

In 1945, after the conclusion of World War II, the founders of Melpar Inc (Thomas Meloy and Joseph Parks), at the suggestion of the United States Navy, moved from New York City to the Washington, DC area to obtain government contracts.^[1] Meloy had served as an assistant to Henry Stimson during the war. The company name was derived from the first syllable of their last names.^[2] In late 1945 Parks accidentally killed himself in a hunting accident; nevertheless Meloy continued promote developing Melpar as an engineering and production company doing business with the Armed forces. He acquired the Carl Miller Engineering Company, a small firm that designed and produced electro-mechanical products. The new company took over a contract for airborne radar systems, and expanded. In the next few years Melpar moved to Alexandria, Virginia, added a second plant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a third plant in Alexandria. Within 15 years the company grew to more than 6,000 employees, and occupied ten facilities of more than 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²) throughout Northern Virginia.

Events such as the Berlin Airlift, the detonation of the nuclear weapons by the Soviet Union, and the outbreak of the Korean War helped Melpar's business. In addition to military applications, technology began to play a role in nonmilitary areas. The US government had a pool of technical talent in its laboratories, and assumed an expanded role. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 further intensified competition with the Soviet Union.

Melpar embraced rather than shunned government work, as did most other companies. In 1951 Westinghouse Air Brake Company, a railway equipment producer founded in 1869, purchased the company for $1 million. It was a large sum for the time, despite typical profits on government contracts of only 1-2% of sales, which were generally reinvested in research.

The 1990s saw the development of the Internet, and its emphasis on computer science, information systems, and software technology. During the 1970s and 1980s a similar fervor was experienced in the telecommunications and biotechnology sectors. However, during the 1950s and 1960s the most exciting technical place to advance the knowledge was the fledgling aerospace and electronics industry. The 1950-60's had many new firms and people readily working long hours. A unique feature of the 1950s, however, was that the US government, not the commercial marketplace, was the prime source of funding of new technologies.

Melpar was located near its customers in Washington, DC. Other government contractors such as Atlantic Research, Vitro Laboratories, Page Communications Engineers, Hazleton Laboratories, COMSAT and the Applied Physics Laboratory also benefited. However, Melpar was the largest. In 1963, openings included astronomers, astrophysicists, microbiologists, entomologists, geophysicists and gas chromatagraphers. Melpar filled a void due to the lack of a technical university in the area (Melpar welcomed George Mason University in 1964).^[3]

In 1952 Melpar built an expensive, modern plant 10 miles (16 km) from downtown on a 44-acre (180,000 m²) wooded tract near Seven Corners on Route 50. The new building, surrounded by fields in a campus-like setting 400 feet (120 m) back from the road, had a pond, willow trees, brick facade, and parking behind the plant. It was a contrast to the small buildings and warehouses located downtown, and was promoted as harmonizing industrial design with residential surroundings. To accommodate Melpar, Fairfax County revamped its zoning laws to help relieve the tax burden on property owners. Melpar employees could work near their homes. In development advertising the state of Virginia touted Melpar as a model.^{[citation needed]} The decision to move to the country was made more than ten years before the "circumferential highway" was completed, and more than 15 years before a shopping mall now known as Tysons Corner Center was built at Tyson's Corner. Later known as the Capital Beltway, this highway led to the term beltway bandits for the contracting firms that later proliferated.^[2]

Melpar linked production facilities to its scientific and engineering capabilities. The company won two large contracts for B-58 aircraft electronics and Minuteman missile guidance components, requiring a buildup of manufacturing plants and an associated technical work force in the Washington area. These facilities enabled scientists to test their laboratory research with prototype hardware. By 1960 the company assembled products such as missile equipment, flight simulators, radar beacons, fuses, data processing equipment, communications, antennas, electronic countermeasure and reconnaissance systems.

Managing manufacturing programs presented a different set of challenges. Since Washington did not have a workforce of electronic technicians Melpar had to build and train one. The Minuteman production line required 1,800 people and as many as 130 were hired in a single day. Technology schools such as the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute expanded to help train designers and draftsmen to build products for space and missile programs. Universities conducted technical courses in Melpar's facilities for employees on their own time, in programs praised by the Secretary of Education. Melpar instituted tuition-reimbursement policies with incentives for high grades in technical courses. Positions for minorities and females opened at unprecedented levels.^{[citation needed]}

During this time the company also pioneered manufacturing technology. Unlike today when existing commercial off-the-shelf technology is available, manufacturing had to translate ideas quickly into producible reality. Intense development occurred in areas of microelectronics technology such as fabrication and layout of miniature circuits, and use of thin film devices and plastic components. Processes such as welding, plating, soldering and automatic component insertion were studied and improved. Melpar's manufacturing engineers often found themselves writing engineering process documents that eventually became the government standard.

Melpar performed diverse research in physical and life sciences over 40 years. One project begun in the late 1950s (foreshadowing artificial intelligence) linked biology and the design of electrical devices–computer programs that emulated artificial nerve cells and simulated functions such as learning ability and initiative. The intent was to construct a thinking machine, similar to a human nervous system that learned pattern recognition and avoided mistakes (e.g. programming a mobile satellite on the moon to avoid a deep precipice). Studies on the nature of speech led to more efficient use of the radio spectrum through bandwidth compression, and improved long distance and coded communications–other related studies focused on elimination of speech deficiencies and development of a phonetic typewriter. In medical research Melpar developed synthetic materials (tissue growth) to be compatible with the heart (later known as the Jarvik heart), and produced an electronic heart monitor (Cardiac Sentry) which detected out-of-norm variations, maintained hospital records and administered prescribed treatments. The company was a pioneer in plasma physics and developed materials for communicating with manned space vehicles reentering the atmosphere. Using solar energy, desalinization experiments were conducted to make saline and brackish water drinkable. Detection systems to measure highway curves, motions and vibrations were developed to improvemass transit systems.

Melpar performed studies in cell biology, food chemistry, composite materials (light weight, high temperature), solar energy, meteorology, virology and immunology (cancer research), air and water pollution, air traffic control, global navigation (constructed a prototype map of the Global Positioning System), and underwater acoustics and optics. They studied methane detection in mines and conversion of coal to acetylene as a new source of energy. An antenna was placed on top of the Empire State Building to evaluate the feasibility of UHF broadcasting. Offshoot products from laboratory technology included resins, varnishes, foam, nonsmudge ink, adhesives, photoelectric readers and frequency standard instrumentation. Synthetic diamonds and emeralds were produced to test hardness in space age materials. While most of Melpar's efforts were technical, some involved the social sciences–creation of a stock index of S&P 500 companies for Business Week, and operation of a Job Corps center.

Melpar continued its work on military and space applications such as radar, communications, and electronic counter measure systems as well as airborne and ground intelligence systems. Devices to detect lethal chemical and biological agents were developed. The company participated in early unmanned (Vanguard and Explorer) and manned space programs (Mercury and Apollo), providing antennas and semidried food for lunar missions. A quarantine facility was produced to insure the astronauts had not brought any contamination from the moon.

Melpar also produced more than a dozen flight simulators, including many of the Air Force's century series fighters and helicopter systems for the Navy. These simulators enabled more realistic and demanding training, saving pilots' lives and reducing fuel consumption during the 1970s energy crisis.

A company newspaper editorial in 1957 stated, "We have sought the breeder job, the line of inquiry promising to expand a general field of engineering endeavor or open a new one."^{[citation needed]}

However, in the mid-1960s Melpar's research, engineering and production began to decline. The government's budget priorities changed, with emphasis placed on solving the nation's social problems.The human spaceflight program had few follow-on missions after landing a man on the moon. The military's budget was heavily dedicated to the Vietnam War. These budget trends reduced Melpar's programs.

Other factors contributed to the business decline. The government did not award follow-on manufacturing contracts, so layoffs of production workers took place. The American Standard Companies, bought the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, and immediately began to sell off the assets. Melpar's research programs were diverse, unprofitable, and had uncertain business prospects.

Some unfavorable publicity contributed to Melpar's misfortunes. In 1963 Bobby Baker was Secretary for the Majority Democratic caucus in the US Senate, and closely linked to Lyndon B. Johnson - he held perhaps the most powerful nonelected position in Congress. A Melpar vending machine contractor filed a lawsuit against Baker, accusing him of influence peddling to switch the contract to a competitor, with which he had financial ties. Within a few days Baker resigned his position. For almost two years there were headlines and congressional investigations into Baker's business deals and questionable relationships. Melpar's top management was called to testify before the Senate Rules committee, although ultimately the Melpar incident was settled out of court. Even so, the situation demoralized employees, did not enhance the company's ability to win new Government contracts, and changes in company management soon took place.

An investigation was also ordered into overpricing of the B-58 systems.^[4]

Some employees left Melpar to start new companies (usually in the Washington area). Over the next 20 to 30 years more than a dozen spin-offs generated millions of dollars in annual sales and employed thousands in the Washington area. One employee began a communications company in Florida that ultimately became the Harris Corporation. Two employees from a research division near Boston formed the data communications manufacturer Codex Corporation in 1962.^[5] . Many prospered in the 1970s and 1980s, but then left the area, due to industrial consolidations, mergers, and acquisitions. Meloy Laboratories continued Melpar's biotechnical, pharmaceutical research until Rhône-Poulenc moved the operation to Philadelphia in the 1980s. A flight simulator spin-off named Simulation Engineering Corporation (Secor), went through four changes in ownership in Northern Virginia–from Sperry Rand to Honeywell to Hughes to Raytheon - before being moved to Texas in 1998. The same employees started a second company, Quintron, which was purchased by Loral for $22 million and later owned by Lockheed. A few companies still reside in Northern Virginia –VSE Inc in Alexandria (1300 employees), RSI Inc in Sterling (500 employees), ISOMET in Springfield, ST Research (now a division of Boeing called Argon ST^[6]) in Newington, as well as half a dozen small machine shops.^{[citation needed]}

For almost 50 years Melpar used the same facility on U.S. Route 50 in Virginia and had about 1,500 employees. The company went through several changes in ownership, being purchased by LTV Electrosystems in 1970 (changed to E-Systems in 1972) and the Raytheon Company in 1995. The name Melpar was discontinued in 1994 and the facility served as headquarters for Raytheon's Strategic Systems Division. Over the last 25 to 30 years the company performed some government electronics contracts, such as production and support of ground systems for the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally this facility managed information systems for agencies such as the US Department of Education, and fabricated and tested electronic products. In 2010 Raytheon moved out of the building at 7700 Arlington Boulevard, and it was remodeled for Tricare.^[7][8]

Pages 105 - 106 : International Relationships

Since World War II, American military operations research

organizations had cooperated closely with their counterparts

in Britain and Canada. ORO personnel worked

closely with British and Canadian operations analysts in

Korea, and the offi ce maintained a full-time liaison offi cer

with the British Army Operational Research Establishment

(AORE).184 Another important means of maintaining contact

with the British and Canadian OR organizations was the

series of annual Tripartite (later Quadripartite, with the addition

of the Australians) Conferences on Army Operations

Research, the fi rst of which was held in London in April 1949

and the second of which was hosted by ORO in Washington

in October 1950.185 Each conference concentrated on a specifi

c major topic and was attended by representatives from

ORO, AORE, and the Canadian Army Operational Research

Establishment (CAORE), as well as representatives from the

OR organizations of the other services in all three countries.

Th e British and Canadians also frequently participated

in conferences sponsored by other U.S. Army agencies,

such as the annual Army OR symposium sponsored

by the Ordnance Corps Army Research Offi ce (Durham).

At the second such symposium in March 1962, G. Neville

Gadsby of AORE explained that his organization included

a small element with the director of operational science and

research in the War Offi ce and the main AORE, located at

West Byfl eet a few miles outside London, which included

an integrated staff of military and civilian analysts divided

into subelements covering weapons, tactics, fi eld studies,

general studies (logistics, economics, communications,

and so forth), human factors, and clothing and equipment

physiology.186 As Gadsby explained, AORE was on a level

with two other British Army OR groups, one in Germany

(Operational Research Section, British Army of the Rhine)

and one in southeast Asia (Operational Research Unit, Far

East). At the same symposium, Henry H. Watson discussed

the CAORE, which then was physically located at Canadian

Army Headquarters in Ottawa and reported directly to the

scientifi c advisor to the chief of the General Staff .187 Watson

also explained that the entire staff of CAORE, which included

military personnel, was in Ottawa and that CAORE

conducted a program of research projects (10–15 percent of

which were self generated) that fell into two main groups:

tactical studies and systems studies.188

In the 1950s, the other nations of the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization (NATO) also began to set up OR organizations,

as did NATO itself.189 In the mid-1950s, an

international OR group composed primarily of the British

and the Canadians was established under Headquarters,

Allied Air Forces Central Europe, at Fontainebleau, France,

and a group led by Dr. H. F. Robertson was organized at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).190

From 1953 the NATO Advisory Group on Aeronautical

Research and Development (AGARD) (and later the OR

group at SHAPE) was active in promoting lectures on operations

research and helping interested nations form their

own OR groups.191 Robertson’s team at SHAPE also organized

a number of conferences on OR in the various NATO

member nations. Th e fi rst conference, in 1955, had 30 participants

from only four nations, but the third gathering, held

in November 1956, had 120 participants representing all

but two of the NATO countries.192 In April 1957, the fourday

NATO conference on operational research sponsored

by AGARD was held at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.193

Th e chief aims of the conference were to interest high-level

NATO administrators in the need for OR and to familiarize

NATO technical and operating personnel with the latest

research methods.194 As the supreme allied commander in

Europe, U.S. Air Force General Lauris Norstad, told attendees

at the conference:

Operational research, by revealing methods for more eff ective

utilization of our manpower, our skills, our material and our

resources, is making a signifi cant contribution to the military

potential of the Atlantic Alliance. Th is is of utmost importance,

for our strength depends not alone on what we have but to a

large extent on what we do with what we have.195

Th e attendees at the second SHAPE operations research

conference, held at HQ SHAPE on 14–15 February

1956, noted that most NATO OR groups were in the

central geographical area, with few in the NATO “fl ank”

countries.196 In March 1956 AGARD organized a threeman

team—Th ornton Page (from the ORO fi eld offi ce in

Heidelberg), Tony Sargeaunt (from the SHAPE scientifi c

advisory staff ), and Glen D. Camp (from Melpar, Inc.)—to

conduct a two-week trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey to

promote OR and help organize OR groups.197 Th e Italian

General Staff expressed interest and asked for a followup

visit, and, on 1 June 1956, the Turks established an OR

group within the Turkish General Staff Scientifi c Advisory

Board comprising ten reserve offi cers with mathematics and

scientifi c training under the direction of Turkish Air Force

Col. Fuat Ulug.198

As of 1956, allied OR groups in NATO included those

at the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine, the Second

Allied Tactical Air Force, and the Canadian Infantry Brigade

Group (all near Dusseldorf ); a RAND representative

and elements of the Offi ce of Operations Analysis at Headquarters,

United States Air Forces Europe, in Wiesbaden;

the ORO fi eld offi ce at Headquarters, United States Army

Europe; Headquarters, Twelfth U.S. Air Force at Ramstein;

Headquarters Allied Air Forces Central Europe at Fontainebleau;

two Navy analysts at Headquarters, Commander

SOUTH near Naples; the Air Defense Technical Center in

Th e Hague; SHAPE near Paris; and the Turkish OR group

under Col. Ulug.199 By 1963, Norway had an OR group of

approximately 450 people concentrated in the Norwegian

Defence Research Establishment (NDRE).200 By that time,

operations research in NATO was focused in the SHAPE

Air Defence Technical Center (SADTC), roughly 40 percent

of whose scientifi c staff (thirty-fi ve analysts) were assigned to

OR tasks.201 Th e SADTC analysts generated 70–80 percent

of their own projects, and, as with the NDRE, military offi -

cers were seconded to participate in specifi c projects.202

The 1950s Secret Discovery ...

High-temperature Superconductors

(HTSC) contains the theory and basis for the technology used for remotely detecting brainwaves from a distance. Currently the military is developing it for remote sensing. While this may not be the classified mind reading technology used today, the point is to see that the level of technology is possible and the scientific theory behind mind reading can be figured out, even if it is classified. Please note that the Jonathan Tennenbaum article mentions HTSC and it's use for mind control weapons. Here is a list of articles on HTSC with brief comments.

Hewish, Mark. (1992,June 1). High-temperature Superconductors. International Defense Review. Vol.25. No.6;

• Pg. 624. "The United States government Office Of Technology Assessment believes that electronic components using high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) will be available by the mid-1990s. ...DARPA (the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has awarded several contracts for work on HTSCs. E-Systems 'Melpar Division leads a team--including several universities and specialist companies such as Superconductor Technologies and Conductus--that has a $9.7 million contract from the agency to demonstrate a feasible approach to defense applications of HTSCs by 1994.

• ...HTSCs first made their appearance in 1986, when two researchers at the IBM laboratories in Zurich--who won a Nobel prize for their work...Radio-frequency energy encounters some resistance even in a superconductor, but this is negligible at frequencies below 1 GHz. ...Most radars of military interest operate at frequencies below 120GHz...