Draft:Helmut Portmann

Helmut Hans Portmann
File:Helmut Hans Portmann.jpg
Born	(1954-11-03)November 3, 1954 Ennetbaden, Switzerland
Alma mater	Georgia Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University
Known for	Unmanned systems
Spouse	Julie Ann Cowen

Helmut Hans Portmann an American electrical and systems engineer, inventor, and novelist, best known for his thrillers based on his real-life adventures in the offshore oil fields, secret nuclear missile systems, and unmanned systems development.

Early Life and Education

Portmann was born on November 3, 1954, in Ennetbaden, Switzerland, to Irmgard Leonore Portmann, originally German and his father Helmut. The family moved to the United States at a young age and grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Portmann earned his B.S.E.E.Electrical Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and later obtained his graduate degree in underwater acoustics from Johns Hopkins University.

Career

Portmann's early career was marked by work in the defense industry, where he analyzed and mitigated detectable acoustic and non-acoustic signatures of US submarines. He later became a sonar analyst at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Florida. In 2009, Portmann was selected to become a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA National Data Buoy Center.

NAVY Program Contributions

A notable project under his direction was the FY 2004 Joint Unmanned Systems Common Control (JUSC2) project to conduct an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration of the ability to link operations of different kinds of unmanned vehicles to a single control system.

NOAA Program Contributions

Under Portmann's leadership, the world's first operational unmanned system used as a tsunameter was placed in service in 2012. The system used Wave Glider for the launch, and is integrated into NOAA's Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) network.

Works

Portmann has published several novels, including:

• Adios El Jefe  : Cold War thriller that follows five young Cuban boys who seek vengeance against Fidel Castro's revolutionaries. The novel is inspired by Portmann's experiences launching Pershing 1a missiles into the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Canaveral in the 1980s. (This is the first of a planned Alex Beck series of novels).
• Book In progress -Gulf of Mexico

Personal Life

Portmann has been married twice, first to Dona K. Aaron, an artist, and then to Julie Ann Cowen. He has one son, Alex Hans Portmann, with his second wife.

Achievements and Awards

Portmann's achievements include:

• 2004 AUVSI (Association of Unmanned Vehicles International) Pioneer Award

• 2003 NSWC Panama City Commanding Officer/Executive Director 2003 Guy C. Dilworth Award.

• Portmann led a team that investigating novel submarine acoustic signature patterns documented in a highly classified report.
• Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Government Contracts : Portmann was responsible for multiple SBIR government contracts while employed at Applied Mathematics, Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Technical Publications and Patents

• 2014 Counter-vandalism at NDBC

• 2001 Shaping the Future of Naval Warfare with Unmanned Systems (CSS/TR-01/09)

• Unmanned aerial vehicle catcher, US Patent US7264204B1

• Mine clearing device incorporating unbiased motion, US Patent US7484447B1

• Mine clearing device incorporating pneumatic thrust and unbiased motion, US Patent US7467579B1

• Method and system for deployment of ordnance from an aircraft in mid-flight, US Patent US7735781B1,

• Launch and recovery system for unmanned underwater vehicles, US Patent