DESE Research, Inc., is a veteran-owned, small-business

Small business

A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

 firm conducting theoretical and analytical research services in the fields of Defense, Energy, Space, and Environment. DESE was formed in 1982 by former U.S. Army civil-service executive Dr. Wallace (Wally) Kirkpatrick

Wallace E. Kirkpatrick

Wallace E. Kirkpatrick is a former U.S. Army civil-service executive, founder and CEO of a high-technology firm , and a philanthropist...

. In addition to research accomplishments, DESE is recognized for high ethical standards and leadership in community services.

Locations

Corporate headquarters and primary operations are in the Cummings Research Park

Cummings Research Park

Cummings Research Park, located primarily in the city of Huntsville, Alabama is the second largest research park in the United States, and the fourth largest in the world. The Research Triangle Park in North Carolina is the only research park in the United States that is larger. Cummings Research...

, Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

. The firm also has offices serving Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and Leavenworth, Kansas

Leavenworth, Kansas

Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

.

Corporate managers

Chief executive officer – Wallace E. Kirkpatrick

Wallace E. Kirkpatrick

Wallace E. Kirkpatrick is a former U.S. Army civil-service executive, founder and CEO of a high-technology firm , and a philanthropist...

President – Michael A. Kirkpatrick

Chief operations officer – Wilbur J. Etbauer

Business development – David F. Hemingway

Administration – Norma M. Osborne

Directorates

Advanced Technology – H. Ray Sells

Leavenworth Operations – William E. Gevedon

Medium Extended Air Defense System – Shawn P. Wilson

Missile Systems Development – William T. Naff, Ph.D.

Simulation Applications – David F. Hemingway

Systems Engineering and Test – Victor Dlugoszewski

Washington, D.C. Operations – Paul R. Logan

Primary customers

At the present and in recent years, the client base of DESE has included the following Government Agencies and Business Industries.

Government agencies

Army Aviation and Missile Command; Army Combined Arms Center; Army Installation Management Command; Army Space and Missile Defense Command; Army Test and Evaluation Command; Army Training and Doctrine Command; Defense Intelligence Agency (Missile and Space Intelligence Center); Defense Threat Reduction Agency; Joint Systems Integration Center; Missile Defense Agency: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. DESE Research is certified by the General Services Administration

General Services Administration

The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...

 under Professional Engineering Services and Information Technology Services.

Business industries

Boeing Company; CAS Group/Wyle; COLSA Corporation; Computer Sciences Corporation; Dynetics; General Dynamics; L3 Communications; Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space; Raytheon Company; Science Applications International Corporation; Teledyne Brown Engineering; plus others, mainly Small Businesses.

Areas of specialization

DESE offers the following primary areas of expertise and recently developed tools and processes.

Areas of expertise

Advanced software development; cyber security; database engineering; enterprise architecture; independent validation and verification; information assurance; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; interoperability certification; missile research and development; modeling and simulation; requirements analysis; test and evaluation; threat assessment; training; weapon system design.

DESE has received contracts, subcontracts, or Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) awards in these areas. A number of the activities resulted in published papers and patents.

Simulation tools and processes

DESE is recognized for developing simulation and modeling software tools. NASA’s heavy-lift vehicle projects use a DESE-developed code for their primary flight simulation In an unusual practice, DESE has made some of its simulations available to the public as open-source code

Open-source software

Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...

, permitting users to study, change, improve, and, at times, distribute the software.

DESE literature cites the following recently developed and used major tools and processe.

• C++ Model Developer – simulation kernel for quickly building dynamic simulations
• Digital Glue – scripting languages to make software interoperable
• T-Frames – universal architecture for high-fidelity missile engagement simulations
• MAVERIC – high-fidelity simulation used in developing heavy-lift vehicles
• Genetic Algorithms – optimization technique using survival-of-the fittest principles
• Mini-Rocket – easy-to configure, multiple-degree-of-freedom flyout trajectory model
• Collection Asset Visualization – optimizing location of intelligence sensors
• Flight Path Threat Assessment – identifying and avoiding MANPADS threat areas
• Battle Command Common Operational Architecture – JTF through Company HQs
• System-of-Systems Mission Threads – basis for Army Interoperability Certification