R&D Management Services

Curt Deckert, Ph.D. has over 45 years of experience in design and development of optical-mechanical and photographic equipment. He has consulted for 140 different companies since 1976. Prior to that, he worked for Northrop, CalComp, Ford Aerospace, and Abbott Labs. He is also a certified management consultant (CMC) specializing in R&D with emphasis on the application of optical technology.

Curt Deckert does feasibility studies in medical instrumentation and semiconductor inspection. He has also developed prototypes for a new medical instrument company. This program made use of specialized fiber optics for light delivery and image transmission to detect cervical cancer using a CCD camera and fluorescence technology. Prior to this work, he has served a wide variety of organizations such as Diagnostic Products Corp., Polaroid, Boehringer-Mannheim Corp., Hycel, Poly-Optical Products, Moog, Energy Conversion Devices, Baxter, Allergan, Corning Glass, Unisys Corporation, Rockwell, Pioneer, Eaton, and many others. 

He has developed major portions of electronic and microfilm cameras manufactured and marketed by UNISYS to record both sides of documents traveling at very high speed in a data processing system. The project required complex illumination, as well as efficient low distortion optics. A project for Pioneer was even more complex in that it used three cameras and specialized automation equipment to center a video disc stamper, measure it, and machine it to precision tolerances under control by three CCD cameras with computer image recognition capability. 

Prior to this, He developed several fiber-optic periscopes for Poly- Optical Products to use in large trucks to detect blind spots while driving in traffic. He has developed a medical system for Diagnostic Products Corporation to be used for initial research which required detection of very low level fluorescence radiation excited by a very stable laser system. He has also developed and manufactured a number of alignment systems including light sources, optical projectors, and optical benches for Morgan Construction Co. to align rollers in steel rolling operations.

He also helped to develop a multi-spectral fluorescence optical system at Lifespex Inc using fiber optics with special multi-spectral uniform lighting to detect cervical cancer from tissue response. He has also developed a reader with near-telecentric capability to read 4 micron code dots on 50-micron particles with low distortion.  We have also worked toward related low-cost hand-held devices. He also developed a fiber based portable fluorescent sensing system for a large medical company that had related fiber optic and light uniformity issues using a high-powered LED for a light source. At Visioneered Image Systems we developed an electronic LED sign with calibrated feedback at each pixel for remote recalibration.  We also designed special optics for  a number of LED lighting applications. Later we did a feasibility study for a commercial medical device  that used fluorescent lifetime measurements with low-cost sources and sensors. These projects have given us valuable experience with a variety of LEDs, detectors, electronics, optical materials, optical designs, components, and systems. Our technical activities are specialized in optical, lighting, electronic, sensor, and related fields. He uses the ZEMAX and OptiCAD computer programs to develop and check out optical designs.

Education

• 1960 B.S.M.E., University of Arizona 
• 1962 M.S.M.E., University of Southern California 
• 1968 M.B.A., University of Southern California 
• 1989 Ph.D., California Coast University 

Employment -- prior to consulting

• 1976-Present, President, Curt Deckert Associates Inc., Santa Ana, CA. 
• 1975-1976, Sr. Development Engineer, Abbott Laboratories, Diagnostics Division. 
• 1972-1975, R&D Engineer, Philco-Ford Corp., Aeronutronic Division, Newport Beach, CA. 
• 1971-1972, Independent R&D Consultant. 
• 1970-1971, R&D Manager, Computer/Software Development Corp., Irvine, CA., and Universal Graphics, Newport Beach, CA. 
• 1966-1970, Member of Technical Staff, Electro-Optical Systems Unit, California Computer Products (CalComp), Anaheim, CA. 
• 1966, Senior Design Engineer, ITT Gilfillan, Los Angeles, CA. 
• 1960-1966, Senior Engineer and Systems Analyst, Nortronics. 

Professional Organizations & Board Memberships

• Institute of Management Consultants 
Board of Directors, President, Southern California Chapter 1986-1987.
Board of Directors, Treasurer, Southern California Chapter 1982-1986.
National Member, 1981-present.
Board of Directors, Treasurer, Orange County Chapter, 2009-present
Chairman, Technology SIG, Orange County Chapter, 2009 to present
• IEEE Member, 1995-2009.  
• Optical Society of America Member, 1989-present. 
• SPIE Member, 1975-present. 
• America Scientific Affiliation Member, 1983-present. 
• Product Development and Management Association, Past member . 
• National Association of Corporate Directors, Past Member . 
• Instrument Society of America, Past member . 
• New York Academy of Sciences, Past Member . 
• Association of Management Consultants, Past Member
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Past member 
• Society of Information Display, Past member

Recognitions 

• Who's Who in California,  
• Who's Who in the West  
• Who's Who in Technology  
• Who's Who in Lasers  
• Who's Who in Finance and Industry  
• Who's Who in America  
• American Men and Women of Science  

Curt Deckert Associates, Inc.
Competitive R&D

18061 Darmel Place
Santa Ana, CA 92705, USA.