Public technical record — with the primes, the academy, and the agencies.
A selected list of published technical work and recognized awards from the PolyStrata® / Nuvotronics era. Co-authors include BAE Systems engineers, the University of Colorado at Boulder microwave group (Prof. Zoya Popović, Prof. Dejan Filipović), and the Nuvotronics technical team led by Dr. Kenneth Vanhille. Programs reference DARPA 3D-MERFS, DARPA DMT, DARPA ViSAR, and IEEE MTT-S.
This is a representative public list; the full record includes hundreds of conference papers, journal articles, GOMACTech presentations, and 125+ issued U.S. and foreign patents.
Recognition.
- DARPA Innovation Award — awarded to Nuvotronics following Phase III execution of the DARPA 3D-MERFS program.
- IEEE MTT-S IMS 2019 Best Industry Paper Award — "Monolithically Fabricated 4096-Element, PolyStrata Broadband D-band Array Demonstrator" — presented by Jared Williams Jordan, in partnership with Nokia. Source →
Published work alongside engineers from BAE Systems and the broader prime community.
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PolyStrata MMIC and 3D-MERFS-era work
Multi-year PolyStrata MMIC and 3D-MERFS-era research published across multiple IEEE venues. Bridged BAE Systems device engineering with the Nuvotronics fabrication platform and the University of Colorado at Boulder microwave group.
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Compact, low-loss, micromachined rectangular coaxial millimeter-wave power combining networks
Demonstrated high-performance millimeter-wave power combining networks using rectangular µ-coaxial transmission lines — a foundational result for PolyStrata-based defense RF subsystems.
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Three dimensional metal micromachining: A disruptive technology for millimeter-wave filters
Established 3D metal micromachining as a manufacturable path to millimeter-wave filters, anchoring the disruptive-manufacturing thesis that ran through the DARPA 3D-MERFS and DMT programs.
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Micro-fabricated micro-coaxial millimeter-wave components
First major published demonstration of the PolyStrata µ-coaxial component family — the technical foundation that ran through DARPA 3D-MERFS and into prime program integration.
Invited technical perspective on PolyStrata and 3D additive RF.
- "PolyStrata Technology: Enabling New Architectures for Phased Arrays" — David Sherrer, President of Nuvotronics, invited talk — IEEE Metropolitan Los Angeles Section, GRSS Chapter.
- "PolyStrata: A new disruptive technology for microwave" — David Sherrer reflection on the 22-year arc from first PolyStrata patents through DARPA 3D-MERFS and DMT to Cubic acquisition. Public post →
- "Executive Interview: David Sherrer, Rohm and Haas Electronics Materials" — Microwave Journal, February 2008. Read →
- "An Enabling New 3D Architecture for Microwave Components and Systems" — Microwave Journal, February 2008.
- "Multiplexer/LNA Module using PolyStrata®" — GOMACTech-15, March 26, 2015.
- "PolyStrata Millimeter-wave Tunable Filters" — J. Reid et al., GOMACTech-12, March 22, 2012.
125+ issued patents. Inventor of record.
Named inventor on 125+ issued U.S. and foreign patents spanning microwave and millimeter-wave structures, 3D microfabrication, photonics packaging, and photoresist chemistry. The record follows the companies I built or acquired — Haleos, Shipley / Rohm and Haas, Nuvotronics, and Cubic Corporation — plus program-specific filings with BAE Systems and Samsung Electronics. Representative grants:
- US 9,490,517 B2 — High frequency power combiner/divider — D. Sherrer, JM. Rollin, K. Vanhille, M. Oliver, S. Huettner — Nuvotronics. View →
- US 10,497,511 B2 — Multilayer build processes and devices thereof — D. Sherrer — Nuvotronics → Cubic. View →
- US 9,993,982 B2 — Methods of fabricating electronic and mechanical structures — D. Sherrer, D. Cardwell — Nuvotronics → Cubic. View →
- US 2004/0263290 A1 — Coaxial Waveguide Microstructures — original Rohm and Haas / PolyStrata foundation filing.
DARPA programs and public press, sourced.
- DARPA 3D-MERFS — all three phases executed by Nuvotronics; PolyStrata foundation; DARPA Innovation Award following Phase III. Program managed by Dr. John D. Evans.
- DARPA ViSAR — 2012, Nuvotronics $4.2M alongside Raytheon $2M and BAE Systems $1.14M. Source →
- Cubic acquires Nuvotronics — March 2019, ~$64M plus $8M earn-out. Cubic press release →
- Cubic's Nuvotronics Wins Best Industry Paper Award — Cubic press release, 2019. Source →
- Cubic's Nuvotronics Wins 2 DoD Awards for PolyStrata Tech — Via Satellite, 2021. Source →
- Veritas Capital acquires Cubic — May 2021, ~$3B; Nuvotronics continues to operate.
- Transmission Lines Withstand Vibration — Microwaves & RF, 2011. Read →
For Helicon, public record is part of the credential.
Helicon Defense's pathway is led by an operator who has done the work in public — written it down, presented it at IEEE venues, partnered with primes on it, gotten patents on it, and built production around it. This list is part of how we show, rather than tell, what "founder/operator-led" actually means in practice.