Marquis Who's Who Millennium Magazine

408 MILLENNIUM R aymond Coke Watson Jr. entered the engineering profession in 1942, and, as of 2017, is still involved full time as the owner and technical leader of a space and defense consulting firm in Huntsville, Ala. Throughout his career, he simultaneously pursued professional work and either graduate studies or university teaching at 10 institutions. His degrees include a B.S. with majors in electrical engineering, physics and mathematics; an M.S. in physics and astronomy; an M.S.E. and a Ph.D. in engineering science; an MBA in management science; and a Doctor of Science Honoris Causa. Mr. Watson’s early work centered on electronics and included two wartime years teaching radar theory in the U.S. Navy. Following this, he formed Dixie Service Company, an FCC-registered firm designing and building post-war radio and television stations. At the same time, he founded the physics and engineering department at Jacksonville State College and was a National Science Foundation faculty researcher initiating the Radio Astronomy Observatory at the University of Florida. In 1960, Mr. Watson moved to Huntsville and established the first industrial research and development operation in what is now Cummings Research Park, the largest park of its type in America. For many years, he was the chief engineer/chief scientist with Teledyne Brown Engineering. His personal accomplishments include developing the laser Doppler velocimeter and receiving a NASA public service award for contributions to the Apollo lunar exploration. Mr. Watson served as president of Southeastern Institute of Technology and chair of the engineering and science advisory board of Alabama A&M University. He has more than 450 reports, papers and publications, including six books. Raymond Coke Watson Jr. Lead Consultant RC Watson & Associates Huntsville, AL