A sub site of
Jack A. Allweiss
Engineer, Businessman
About my Family, See www.hoa.org
Future Domain Corp.
Boy Scouts
Pepperdine University
The untimely death of my son David motivated me to record my thoughts and perspectives about my career. In looking back I see three major phases or components of my professional career. My early work was as an engineer, I then transitioned into a businessman and finally I devoted significant effort and funds to charity. You might also add Investor to my list of careers, but my success or failure as an investor is still very much in doubt. Maybe in ten years I will be ready to document that phase of my career.
Jack Allweiss Engineer
I passed the FCC First Class Radiotelephone Operators License exam when I was 16, allowing me to work as a broadcast engineer at WJLB AM/WMZK FM radio, and WJBK-TV in Detroit.
When I attended Wayne State University, I worked as a summer intern at Sinai Hospital and developed the first computerized scintillation counter analysis software. Scintillation count was used to determine kidney function by injection of a radioactive dye and then measuring the rate at which it was flushed by the kidney. At that time the readings were printed on a paper tape and then the rate was calculated by hand. In this project I interfaced the counter to a DEC mini-computer which produced a tape. I then assembled a program to analyze the data on a mainframe. Using this technique results could be obtained in a day or two, where previously they required a week to ten days.
I worked on the interface circuit for early ultrasound arterial measurement device at Wayne State as a research assistant. The device is now standard equipment in OR’s and emergency rooms, and provides a picture of the artery so that catheters can be accurately inserted without damaging the artery wall. At the time we would use dogs and surgeons from Wayne State Medical School to test the device.
At MIT where I attended graduate school I worked as a research assistant at Lincoln Labs, a facility of the Department of Defense, on a classified project that was vital to the security of the nation relating to ballistic missile defense.
My thesis project at MIT, which was in some ways related to the classified work, involved building the first specialized computer capable of generating speech (speech synthesis) in real time, called the SSP. The architecture of that computer is now the basis of almost all single chip speech signal processors used today.
At Burroughs Corporation I lead the team that developed the first successful large scale computer memory made of semiconductors by utilizing new and novel error correction algorithms and architecture. I proposed, developed, and managed the development of the Burroughs B5900, which led directly to the Burroughs A series of mainframe computers. This computer architecture, known as E-mode, is one of only three mainframe architectures to survive into the 21st century.
At Future Domain Corporation, which I founded, we developed the first single chip SCSI interface by developing a new and novel interface circuit on silicon. We developed the first SCSI interface board for the IBM PC, the first SCSI interface board for the IBM AT and PS2. We developed the first multimedia SCSI interface for CD-ROM drives with SONY Corporation. We developed the "El Torito" specification that is still used today that defines how to boot the operating system from a CD drive.
Jack Allweiss Businessman
I started my work career with my father and uncle, working for them at there auto service shop.
My first job outside my family business was for WJLB Radio. I worked in radio and television, for four years, from 16 years old until I was 20.
At Wayne State University I was first engineering director, and finally radio station general manager for WAYN, the campus radio station. During my tenure was the first time the station actually sold advertising, and was able to fund expansion itself. Key to this was organizing a new sales and marketing operation, and a computer based "traffic and billing" system.
I worked as a summer intern at Burroughs Corporations Plymouth Michigan plan prior to leaving Michigan to attend MIT. I developed a simple user programming language for the Burroughs "L" series computerized accounting machines, which until that time only supported preprogrammed applications.
At MIT I minored in business, and as part of a marketing capstone class my partner and I developed a marketing plan which was later used by a UK company to successfully enter the "Dart" market in the US. I also worked at Lincoln Labs for the US Air Force.
At Burroughs I started as an engineer, but quickly was promoted into management, first as a matrix manager for the B6900 computer system, then Hardware Section and finally Department Manager for the B5900 medium system. I helped define the product line that eventually became the Unisys "A" Series, which is one of only three mainframe architectures to survive into the 21st century. Click HERE to read the story of the B5900.
I helped launch a computer test equipment company, HiLevel Technology as Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Operations. The company was later sold to Fluke Instruments.
I founded Pacific Management and Engineering, which did contact consulting work for Century Data Systems, Wespercorp, Iomega Corp, Seagate Corp, General Business Technology, and others.
I founded Future Domain Corporation and was CEO and Chairman. Future Domain sold SCSI integrated circuits, board level products, and software to all the major computer manufacturers in the world including IBM, Toshiba, Sony and others. I raised venture capital for the company in 1988. The company was sold to Adaptec in 1995.
I was an Orange County Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year Semi-finalist and Finalist in 1991 and 1993.
Jack Allweiss, Other Activities
After the sale of Future Domain in 1995 I chaired the Technology Committee for Mission Viejo High School. I helped develop three programs. Information Literacy Program (ILP) was designed to leverage computing power students had at home, supplemented with school library resources. Teachers in the program gave at least four assignments per semester that required the use of Internet research resources in exchange for a laptop and internet access in there classrooms.
The second program is Anytime Anywhere Learning, which has been renamed E-core. This program allows students to bring Laptop computers to school. E-core classes were developed in the core curriculum including English, Social Studies, History, and Science. The school provided the network infrastructure and the students brought the laptops from home. About 25% of students were in the program when I left.
The third program was Digital High School. This was a state program, but MVHS and other district high schools implemented a new and different architecture which I developed, using cheap, inexpensive and robust terminals in the classroom and Windows Terminal Server computers. Using my contacts at Unisys from the Burroughs days, I had Unisys donate hundreds of hours to help develop the system for the school. The state eventually recommended the MVHS DHS architecture to all school in the state and the school became a demonstration site for the technology.
I Served on the Pepperdine University Seaver Board of Visitors, and as Chairman of the Chapman University Science and Technology Advisory Committee. At Chapman we developed a new major in Medical Communications fulfilling a goal I set at David's funeral, better communication between the medical community and patients and family. We also launched the program in Bioinformatics, which will hopefully lead to new treatments for cancer and other genetic diseases.
I was a volunteer for Boy Scouts of America for eleven years. I was High Adventure Chairman of Troop 603 and 634 in Mission Viejo and Lake Forest CA. I planned and took part in many backpack and off-road trips all over California including the Sierras, Catalina Island, the California desert, and the Colorado river.
I am a patron of the National Psoriasis Foundation and was an Education Counselor for MIT.
Along with volunteering my time, my wife and I have made significant donations through our Charitable Foundations to the organizations above and others.
Jack A. Allweiss, Latest update: October 2008