Professional Background
Del Hayes is a retired electrical engineer, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Kansas State University and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Ohio State University.
He started his career in 1960 working at the Bell Telephone Laboratory, in Whippany, New Jersey. While at the Lab his responsibilities included the design of an antenna system for the Nike Zeus missile launch cell, and development of a mathematical analysis program to analyze telemetry data from Nike Zeus launches. That program was responsible for identifying an antenna design deficiency that had been the cause of the loss of several Zeus missiles.
In 1962 he joined the Antenna Lab of the Electrical Engineering department at Ohio State University, where he worked on the Phased Array project under contract to the U.S. Air Force. As part of that project he developed an analysis of the antenna gain-to-noise-temperature ratio of a large phased array. That analysis was published by NASA, and served as the basis for his thesis. He obtained his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from OSU in 1965.
Mr. Hayes joined Texas Instruments, Incorporated, in Dallas, Texas, in 1965, working for the Airport Surveillance Radar department. As part of that department, he was responsible for system engineering and advanced development projects. He also was a major contributor to technical proposals, and was proposal manager for several multi-million-dollar radar proposals.
Mr. Hayes later joined the Loran department, where he was responsible for all flight testing for a Loran receiver which was the first ever to be granted full certification by the Federal Aviation Administration for Instrument Flight Rules use in general aviation aircraft.
Mr. Hayes left Texas Instruments in 1985 and, with his son Curt, started Preston Trail Audio, a retail store for ultra-high end audio components, in Dallas, Texas. In 1993, they started Home Entertainment and Technology to concentrate on the sales and installation of custom audio/video and telephone systems for new homes.
In 2000, Mr. Hayes and his son each started consulting business that concentrate on the design and documentation for advanced custom audio/video systems, in support of system integration businesses.
Mr. Hayes has always been interested in writing, and has written articles for newspapers and magazines. He self-published a novel, and has several other books either finished or in progress. His interests, in addition to writing, include flying—he is a forty-year private pilot—traveling, horseback riding, driving his tractor and visiting with his grandchildren. He has an avid interest in astronomy, cosmology and atomic physics, and tries to stay abreast of new theories in those fields.
He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, USA, having served as a member of the Session at three different churches. He served on many committees, taught adult Sunday School classes and, with his wife, led Youth Fellowship groups for junior high and senior high students. He served six years as trustee on the school board of his local school district.
For a fuller description of both my personal and professional background, you can read "About Me."