Harry Diamond Fuzing Excellence Award presented to Dr. Barry T. Neyer

The NDIA (National Defense Industrial Association - USA) has awarded Dr. Barry Neyer the prestigious Harry Diamond Fuzing Excellence Award at The Annual NDIA Fuze Conference.

The Fuze Conference welcomes the participation of both domestic and allied fuze designers, manufacturers and component suppliers, along with government representatives. The Harry Diamond Fuzing Excellence Award recognizes the individual who, in the judgment of the NDIA Fuze Committee, has made the greatest overall contribution to the fuze program and was open to all individuals, regardless of grade or position, in the United States fuze community. All military personnel, government civilians, and contractor employees were eligible.

Dr. Neyer has responsibility for R&D and new product development for a number of diverse product lines in the Advanced Electronic System side of the Excelitas Defense & Aerospace Business Unit. During his career, he has helped to write or revise most of the U.S. military and international standards covering detonators, ESAFs, and ISDs. Dr Neyer has nine patents - with an additional number pending - and holds a B.S. Physics, M.S. Mathematics, M.S. Physics and Ph.D. Physics,

On receiving the award, Dr. Neyer said, “I would like to give thanks to my co-workers and managers for their support and substantial efforts on many Excelitas projects. Their efforts were indeed critical to the success of the projects and a key contribution to the overall success that we have had in the field of fuzing. I view the Harry Diamond award as, in reality, an Award to Excelitas Technologies for recognition of their contributions to Fuzing.”

The award is named in honor of Harry Diamond (12 February 1900 – 21 June 1948) who was an American radio pioneer and inventor, and namesake for Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratories in the USA. Diamond was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States as a child. Mr. Diamond, through his vast knowledge in the field of electronics, contributed greatly to the fundamental concept and design of proximity fuzes. He held 16 patents for electronics-related inventions. The War Department later described inventor Harry Diamond's proximity fuze as "one of the outstanding scientific developments of World War II ... second only to the atomic bomb" in military importance.

NDIA presented Dr. Neyer with the award at this year’s Fuze conference. In addition to a cash award and an appropriate plaque, the winner’s name has been inscribed on the Harry Diamond Fuzing Excellence Award Trophy that is prominently displayed at NDIA Headquarters.