Paul Ryan was presented with the 2012 AEA Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the Aircraft Electronics Association’s board of directors, during the 55th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show held earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
In 1957, he established Dytronics Co. Inc., and a number of products were designed and sold to companies engaged in the aerospace efforts. By making adjustments to simultaneously solve a couple of simple electrical equations, he realized that precise phase angles could be synthesized with remarkable precision. The resulting primary phase angle standard was quickly recognized, accepted and adopted by the meterology laboratories of all branches of the military, NATO nations and major aerospace contractors.
In addition, while piloting a single-engine airplane traveling to serve customer needs, Ryan had a shocking experience with the encounter of a thunderstorm. With a strong desire to help pilots avoid the dangers of thunderstorms, he worked on a solution. The resulting product was the Ryan Stormscope. The highly successful product generated a 360-degree° map around the aircraft for pilot viewing of lightning activity. It was sold to the 3M Co. in 1981. Currently, it is owned and marketed by L-3 Avionics Systems, and more than 50,000 Stormscope units are flying today.
Following the sale of Stormscope, Ryan founded Ryan International Corp., a long-time member of the AEA. Under his direction, Ryan International developed world-class traffic advisory system products. In 2005, Ryan International Corp. merged with Avidyne Inc. The combined companies brought together avionics visionaries and extended Avidyne’s capabilities and market reach.
Ryan attended Ohio State University, earned a degree in electrical engineering and continued advanced studies in physics. Throughout the years, Ryan has been recognized with a number of awards, including the 2010 Benjamin G. Lamme Medalist award, presented by the college of engineering at Ohio State University, the highest engineering award for meritorious achievement in advancing engineering.
Founded in 1957, the Aircraft Electronics Association represents more than 1,300 repair stations from throughout the world specializing in maintenance, repair and installation of avionics and electronic systems in general aviation aircraft. The AEA membership also includes manufacturers of avionics equipment, instrument repair facilities, instrument manufacturers, airframe manufacturers, test equipment manufacturers, major distributors, engineers and educational institutions.
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