(L-R) Dr. Dan Schumacher, Director Technology Development, Torch Technologies; Dr. Bruce Peters, Business Development Solutions Lead, Torch Technologies; Amanda Clark, Director EXPRESS Program Manager, Torch Technologies; John Watson, President & CEO, Torch Technologies; Bill Roark, co-founder, Torch Technologies; joined by Dr. Darren Dawson, UAH President; Dr. Christine Curtis, UAH Provost and Executive Vice President Academic Affairs; Dr. Shankar Mahalingam, Dean UAH College of Engineering; and Mallie Hale, UAH Vice President for University Advancement/Executive Director of UAH Foundation.
Michael Mercier | UAH
Torch Technologies has committed $60,000 to The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, to name Room N263 in Olin B. King Technology Hall (OTK). The space will be known as the Torch Technologies Measurement and Instrumentation Laboratory.
"On behalf of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and the College of Engineering, I am very grateful to Torch Technologies for their support of our Measurement and Instrumentation Laboratory,” says Dr. Shankar Mahalingam, Dean of the UAH College of Engineering. “This laboratory provides students with hands-on experience in carrying out experimental measurements, signal acquisition and signal interpretation with broad applications to many engineering areas. Since the relevant course offered in this laboratory is required for both mechanical and aerospace engineering majors, Torch Technologies’ investment directly impacts the learning of approximately 300-plus students each year."
Founded in Huntsville, the aerospace and defense industry company has strong ties to both UAH and the surrounding community.
“Many Torch employee-owners grew up in Huntsville or were attracted to Huntsville by the exciting work going on in the space and defense industry,” says Torch Technologies President and CEO, John Watson. “Many of our employee-owners attended UAH. Our Chief Technology Officer, Joe Hill, graduated from UAH in 1985 with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Joe, along with other UAH educated graduates, were at the forefront of developing vital innovative modeling and simulation capabilities to support the Warfighter. Modeling and simulation continues to be a core competency that fuels our growth.”
Watson reports that the relationship that has been forged between Torch Technologies and UAH will continue to be mutually beneficial.
“Torch has established a wonderful working relationship with UAH, because we are always looking for the best and brightest recent graduates to support our customers’ current needs, as well as to develop the next innovative technologies to continue to serve our customers throughout the USA. These graduates bring high levels of enthusiasm and an intuitive grasp of new technologies that result in new processes and innovations. The ambition of recent UAH graduates makes them motivated and willing to challenge outdated thinking, which makes them a valued workplace asset for beneficial change in our industry. Success of graduates in the workplace filters back to UAH where the curriculum, the tools and the attitudes are continuously modified and improved, ensuring the next class of graduates is ready to support the evolving business needs of Torch and other high-technology and solutions companies.”
Torch invests in Huntsville and UAH to fuel the development of the highly skilled workforce needed to support future technological advancements, ensuring the region continues as the hub for technological innovation in the south, as well as a national center for defense and aerospace research.
“I am grateful to Bill Roark, John Watson, Joe Hill and Dr. Dan Schumacher of Torch Technologies for the value that they have placed in the education of the future engineering workforce that will have a positive influence in the north Alabama region and the nation," Dr. Mahalingam says.
“We want to build bridges between UAH students and Torch, as well as other Huntsville companies, to drive the research and development of the newest technologies to protect our nation,” Watson adds. “We value our commitment to the Warfighter, to our employee-owners and to our community, so it is exciting for us to see quality community-minded, home-grown companies, operated by caring local people, continue to expand, build off of their previous successes and return so much back to our community. Huntsville has one of the highest concentrations per capita of degreed engineers in the country. These same people share a community-minded spirit that supports the needs of all our citizens through significant donations to local charities, evidenced at Torch by Torch Helps and Torch in Action, for example.”
Torch Technologies is a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, with employee owners located in California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Kwajalein and Egypt. One of the nation’s top 100 Federal technology contractors, Torch holds over $2.3 billion in active contracts to provide research, development and engineering services to the Federal Government and Department of Defense.