About

John C. Halpin

JCH Consultants INC.
Dayton, OH
jchalpin@gmail.com

Education

• B.S., Chemical Engineering at Catholic University, 1959
• Master Program, Nuclear Engineering, CU, 1959-1961
• Ph. D., Applied Physics (Materials), U of Akron, 1969
• Federal Executive Institute, 1984
• DoD Level III Certification, Acquisition

Dr. John Halpin has had a long and distinguished career in the aerospace field. He spent more than 30 years with the Air Force Material Command at Wright Patterson AFB in both a military and civilian capacity, retiring from USAF Senior Executive Service in 1996. As Chief Engineer for the Aeronautical System Center, Dr. Halpin had responsibility for the chief engineers of ASC’s aircraft development programs including all USAF aircraft development activities and the ASC’s engineering staff. In 1986 Aviation Week and Science Technology, recognized Dr. Halpin for his Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Aerospace. His personal efforts included contributions to the F-14, F-15, F-16, B-1, B-2 aircraft and a variety of subsystems. He led the USAF initiatives in Acquisition Reform for Performance Specifications as well as Systems Engineering, Open Systems for Avionics, and Integrated Technical, Cost, and Schedule Risk Management processes. From the 1960s through the 1980s, his various assignments included leading the USAF’s Advanced Composite Materials and Structural Development activities, as well as leadership roles in the structures, manufacturing, systems, and initial certification concepts for advanced composite structures for F-15, F-16, B-1 and B-2 applications. Professor Halpin was also a technical advisor to the FAA in the formulating FAA certification concepts for composite airframes pioneered in the 1979 Lear Fan project and reformulation of AC 20-107A (1984) for Advanced Composite Airframes. Dr. Halpin participated in the initial formulation of the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity program in the 1960/1970’s, now imbedded in the DoD JSSG 2006 and extended the integrity process to include the Avionics/Electronics Integrity (MIL-HDBK-87244 (USAF) Mechanical Equipment and Subsystems Integrity Program (MIL-HDBK-1798 (USAF) in the 1990’s. The MIL-HDBK-515 (USAF) Weapon System Integrity Guide (WSIG), 11 Oct 2001, implements these integrity programs on all DoD aeronautical systems. The integrity programs have become an integral part for lifecycle management of new and aging air vehicles in the USAF and DoD fleets.

In recent years, he has served as advisor to several USAF and DOD program offices, as a consultant for the CIVIL aeronautical industry including (B787 program) the Italian Center for Aeronautical Research, CIRA, Alenia Aermacchi (Cseries & ATR programs) in Naples Italy and others. Dr. Halpin has published more than 80 technical papers in composite materials, airframe structures, structural reliability, and materials processing. In 2005 he was awarded the Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials from the University of Delaware. He is the author of two books addressing advanced composite materials and structural design, and was an editor of the book series Progress in Materials Science, published in 1969 and 1970. His pioneering 1969 book “Primer on Composite Materials” (with Ashton & Petit) provided introduced laminated composite technology to the combined aircraft structural design and materials engineering communities. In 1969 his work of established the conditions for the dimensional stability for parabolic satellite dishes; space structures and printed wiring boards for surface mount digital electronic technology. His development of the “Wearout Model,” using damage (crack or delamination concepts) for composite material durability in 1973, was controversial at the time but laid the foundation for the Load Enhancement Factors, LEF, used in the design of the Full-scale Fatigue Test concepts utilize today. The Halpin–Tsai, Halpin-Kardos, and Laminate Analogy provided a key element in the technology base for chopper fiber technology. In 1982 Dr. Halpin initiated the Processing Science Initiative for Composite Materials introducing Chemical Engineering Unit Operations and Design for Manufacturing into composite materials engineering. Dr. Halpin was a cofounder of the Journal of Composite Materials; he also served as a member of the journal’s executive board for several years and was an Associate Professor at Washington University in Saint Louis.

Honors and Activities

• Fellow, SAMPE, May 2006
• Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials from the University of Delaware; 2005
• Exceptional Civil Service Award, Department of the Air Force, 1996;
• C-17 Defense Science Board Advisor, 1993;
• Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science, Advisory Board, 1993-1995;
• DoD Standardization Individual Achievement Award, 1995;
• American Society for Composite Fellow, 1993;
• The Affiliate Societies Engineering Achievement Award, 1991;
• Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award, 1991;
• Defense Science Board Advisor for Concurrent Engineering, 1989;
• Meritorious Civil Service Award, Department of the Air Force, 1988;
• Outstanding Contributions in the Development of Advanced Composite Materials; American Society for Composite Materials, 1988;
• Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Aerospace in 1985;
• Aviation Week and Science Technology, 1986;
• Advisor to Federal Aviation Administration for Certification of Aircraft - 1980/1982;
• Board of Advisors, Institute for Material Sciences, University of Naples, Italy, 1985 to 1996;
• Board of Directors, Institute for Composite Materials, University of Washington, 1983 to 2004;
• Affiliate Professor of Materials Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis MO, 1968 to 1975;
• Various Technical Societies