MANAGEMENT TEAM

Dr. Paul Runkle (President, COO) was a Rackham Graduate Fellow at the University of Michigan, where he received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked as a research associate at the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) where he developed novel algorithms to detect vibrating targets in synthetic aperture radar imagery. As a research associate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University, he developed new statistical signal processing algorithms for multi-aspect target detection and classification using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) for multiple sensor platforms. Dr. Runkle served as a Principal Systems Engineer at XtremeSpectrum, Inc. (acquired by Motorola in 2003), where he designed high-rate Ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communication architectures including adaptive equalizers, fast-acquisition systems, multi-channel receivers, and precision UWB geo-location systems. He has several patents and patents pending for wideband communications technology including equalization and ranging algorithms for UWB systems, and adaptive equalization methods for OFDM. As VP of Operations of Signal Innovations Group, Inc., he serves as program manager for active contracts in algorithm design and signal analysis for sensors, communications, and decision systems. Dr. Runkle is an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and has authored over 30 refereed journal and conference publications in the fields of signal and image processing and communications.

Dr. Lawrence Carin (Director of Technology) is the William H. Younger Professor of Engineering at Duke University. He has been the Principal Investigator on numerous large DoD projects, including an ARO MURI dedicated to mine detection (1996-2001) and a DARPA/ARO MURI (2001-2006) dedicated to adaptive multi-model sensing. His principal areas of research involve adaptive physics-based signal processing. Under basic ONR funding, he led development of a new hidden Markov model (HMM) for characterization of multi-aspect scattering from general targets, with demonstrations performed for ONR using measured MCM and ASW data. At the Signal Innovations Group (SIG) Dr. Carin is the PI on several research projects, including SAR-based detection of concealed targets, airborne mine detection, as well as development of techniques for detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Dr. Carin is the author or co-author of over 120 papers published in peer-review journals. In 2003 he was an Invited Guest Editor for a Special Issue of the IEEE Trans. on Geoscience and Remote Sensing dedicated to mine detection, and in 2004 he was the Invited Guest Editor of a Special Issue of Radio Science dedicated to subsurface sensing. In 2000 he was awarded the DoD Cleanup Project of the Year, and in 2002 he served as a member of a White House Advisory Panel on the future of mine research. Dr. Carin was elected a Fellow of the IEEE in 2001.

Samantha Venters (VP Finance – Controller) manages all activities related to company finances, contracts, and intellectual property protection in addition to performing operational program management and general corporate administration. Prior to SIG, Ms. Venters served as MCNC Research & Development Institute’s Lead Contracts Specialist. While at MCNC she held roles in technology transfer, contracts administration, and finance for the Research & Development Institute, the North Carolina Research and Education Network and the North Carolina Supercomputing Center. Ms. Venters is a member of the National Contracts Management Association and has a Master’s Certificate in Government Contracting from George Washington University. Her formal education consists of a double B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara; a Master of Public Administration degree from North Carolina State University; and an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Peter Durand (Vice President) has more than 15 years' experience in both small and large organizations with success in managing mergers and acquisitions, the handling of departmental and infrastructure integrations on budgets and schedules, and consistently exceeding profit margins. Pete was most recently president and chief operating officer for three years at Entivity, an automation company with 2000+ customers worldwide, including many Fortune 500 companies. Pete held the role of director of E-Business for GE Fanuc, a joint venture business between General Electric and Fanuc of Japan. While there he was an integral part of the executive staff of this $600 million business: recruiting the e-business team, revamping the entire web and IT infrastructure, and coordinating e-business strategies with GE's CIO, CFO and CEO. Prior to GE, Pete worked in several positions at Eaton and Kimberly-Clark in engineering, research, operations and marketing. Pete holds a BS in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Dr. Matt Welborn (Director, Engineering) As Director of Engineering for Signal Innovations Group, Inc. (SIG), Dr. Welborn manages programs for algorithm design and signal analysis for sensors and also leads effort to apply SIG’s technology in commercial applications. Prior to joining SIG, he served as a Wireless Systems Architect at XtremeSpectrum, Inc. (acquired Motorola/Freescale in 2003), where he designed high-rate Ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communication architectures and coordinated standardization and regulatory efforts to promote UWB technology. He also managed a joint team in collaboration with Motorola supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology/Advanced Technology Program to develop UWB precision location technology for firefighters and other safety-of-life professionals.

Dr. Welborn was a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow at MIT, where he received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering and has numerous patents issued and pending for wideband communications technology, signal processing systems and protocols. He previously served as a Submarine Officer on board a fast attack nuclear submarine in the US Navy, with extensive background in nuclear submarine design, safety and operations, and is an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Dr. Welborn received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and his B.S. in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy.