Professional Summary
Mr. Dennison is a technologist and storage industry analyst specializing in the introduction of new technology. His company, Research Development Consultants Inc. (www.ResearchDevelopmentConsultants.com) also follows technology and markets for the data storage industry (hard drives, solid state drives and storage systems) and its major component suppliers.
During the last decade Mr. Dennison has worked extensively in end-to-end integration of hard drives and solid state drives into data storage servers and systems. Clients for this service have notably included Cisco and Huawei.
His current work also includes analysis of future technology directions in data storage as well as activity as an expert witness in the areas of thin film technology, disk drive technology, hard drive failure analysis (www.HDDFA.com), tape and optical drive systems.
His career has encompassed a variety of advanced development posts in the data storage industry. He is a founder of 5 storage startup companies and his firm’s consulting clients have included the entire spectrum of businesses from Fortune 100 companies such as Apple, Cisco Systems, and Panasonic to small stealth startups.
He has extensive experience in the field of disk drives and has carried numerous products from development of enabling technology through to volume manufacturing. Teams he has led have created a number of very innovative and successful products and processes. These have included some of the industry’s earliest magnetoresistive (“MR”) head drives, Maxtor’s first double- capacity drive, Maxtor’s first 3.5” drive, Toshiba’s first 3.5” drive, and Quantum’s self-servo writing system. The technologies (heads, media, channel, servo and process) embodied in these and other products include a great many industry firsts.
He was also the co-organizer of two major data storage industry conferences that cover the latest technology in magnetic, optical and flash memories. These are the Storage Visions Conference (www.StorageVisions.com) and the Creative Storage Conference (www.CreativeStorage.org) which currently attract over 1000 industry participants.
Additionally, he has wide-ranging thin film process experience including thin film disks (he co- founded a company to make these) and magnetoresistive heads. He has designed and built vacuum processing equipment (primarily sputtering systems with a specialty in RF diode and magnetron systems, although he also designed e-beam systems) for a number of companies including Perkin-Elmer, Hewlett Packard (now Keysight Technologies), Unisys, Eikon, and Vac- Tec. He designed Perkin-Elmer’s 1st magnetron source and has developed a number of unique thin film processes (including reactive ion deposition) which required the design, construction, optimization and introduction to production of specialized vacuum processing equipment and processes. He is familiar with all aspects of thin film processing and process equipment.
At TeraStor, an optical drive and media startup, he led projects for optical head and media design and devised new head and disk coating systems. He also created and taught the first KnowledgeTek Optical Storage Technology Course that pertained to DVD technology.
He served as VP of Advanced Development and later VP of Engineering for MarQlin Corporation, Engineering Manager of the Advanced Test and Process Development at Quantum, Director of Enabling (Advanced) Technology for Maxtor, and Director of R&D for Toshiba America. His early and middle career was as a heads/media technologist and he has a deep and broad understanding of that science.
Mr. Dennison also has a small failure analysis laboratory supporting the operations of www.HDDFA.com that includes a variety of video and data storage testing equipment and protocols. He also has access to other laboratory facilities that include a broad array of failure analysis techniques including accelerated life testing; microanalysis including ESCA, Auger, SIMS, and X-ray; optical, scanning electron and scanning probe microscopy; thermal imaging and mapping, etc.
Expertise
Storage Technology
Magnetic and Optical Disk Drives
Optical and Magnetic Heads and Media
Education
Product Definition & Development
Thin Film Processes
Technical Problem Solving & Strategy
Finite Element Modeling
Program and Project Leadership
Year | College or University | Degree |
1972 | San Jose State University, San Jose CA | MS, Physics/EE |
1970 | San Jose State University, San Jose CA | BS, Physics/Mathematics |
Professional Experience
From: 1986
To: Present
Title: Principal Consultant
Organization Research Development Consultants Inc.
Summary: Mr. Dennison is the founder of Research Development Consultants Inc. Present work includes:
Consulting on design, development, manufacturing, and test of data storage systems and components, both HDD and SSD based.
Consulting on and failure analysis of data storage products.
Litigation support in the areas of storage system technology, disk drive technology, solid state storage technology, hard drive failure analysis and thin film technology.
From: 1999
To: 2004
Organization: Marqlin
Title: Vice President, Engineering
Summary: Marqlin was a start-up company manufacturing 1” Microdrive products. Mr.
Dennison’s Accomplishments included:
Key team member that helped develop business plan and raise $14 Million
Member of the design team for drive architecture, heads and media specifications and selection
Evaluated new technologies and intellectual property including servo
Led thin film motor development effort overseeing:
Business development including staffing, capital and expense
Thin film processing (lithography, sputtering, plating, etching, etc.)
Analysis and modeling of mechanics, magnetics, etc.
Assembly and test of prototypes
From: 1998
To: 1999
Organization: TeraStor Corporation
Title: Director, Advanced Technology
Summary: A startup company to combine optical recording and Winchester disk drive technology.
Achievements included:
Developed future product and technology roadmaps
Organized and implemented the new projects required using the portfolio concept
Led projects: system design, heads, media, advanced channels, optical and MEM’s transducers
Leader for head and media design and thin film process development
From: 1995
To: 1998
Organization: Quantum Corporation
Title: Engineering Manager, Advanced Test & Process Development
Summary: Quantum before its merger into Maxtor was an industry leading disk drive company. Mr. Dennison led the development of advanced servo writer technology for disk drive
manufacturing. He defined, implemented, staffed and led the self-servo writing program for all products and managed the development of advanced tests, data systems, and analytical techniques. Involved advanced development of servo systems, servo writing and servo patterns. Participated in Monthly Servo Seminars and KTs HDD servo course. The technology developed by his team was the only one named in the Maxtor Merger Proposal [424(b)(3)] and was valued at $56M or nearly 1/3 of the total value of the acquisition.
From: 1993
To: 1994
Organization: Maxtor Corporation
Title: Director, Enabling (Advanced) Technology
Summary: An industry leading disk drive design, development and manufacturing company. Mr.
Dennison led a group that developed new technology required for future disk drives and pioneered the introduction of MR head technology into company product lines. Additionally, he qualified advanced thin film media for new drive products, and led design group for Maxtor’s first PRML channel and accompanying servo system
From: 1990
To: 1993
Organization: Toshiba America
Title: Director of R&D, Director of Heads & Media Engineering
Summary: Toshiba America was a startup for USA-made high-end 3.5 inch Hard Disk Drives.
Created advanced development group: determined projects, hired team, led work
Planned all new product architectures including head/media/channel (and servo) modeling
Created head/media group which delivered leading edge heads/media on schedule
From: 1987
To: 1990
Organization: Maxtor Corporation
Title: Senior Staff Technology Manager
Summary: A leading supplier of high-end disk drives with numerous innovations
Led thin film media technology and strategy across all product lines
Led research and development of new head/media technologies and products
Led a small group working on contact recording
From: 1982
To: 1985
Organization: Eikon, Inc. Title: Chief Engineer
Summary: As technical founder of Eikon, performed all technical, as well as some marketing, duties associated with a plated thin film rigid disk start-up. These tasks included product definition; business planning; raising capital (in excess of $15M); facility planning and construction, liaison; technical and managerial recruiting; capital equipment planning and acquisition (more than $7M); process development, transfer to production, automation and scale-up; standards activity and customer liaison. The technical team completed, ahead of schedule, an aggressive engineering plan spanning two years.
From: 1979
To: 1982
Organization: Unisys
Title: Program General Manager
Summary: Responsible for company-wide manufacturing and engineering of heads and disks and development of advanced recording technology.
From: 1975
To: 1979
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Title: Staff Engineer
Summary: Developed advanced thin film processes now in widespread production using the techniques of sputtering, sputter etching, and photolithography. Acted as a company- wide consultant on new vacuum and sputtering technology.
From: 1973
To: 1975
Organization: Perkin-Elmer
Title: Advanced Development Engineer
Summary: Established an applied research laboratory for thin films. Developed new approaches to secondary electron control in plasmas for sputtering applications including the company’s first magnetron source.
From: 1973
To: 1972
Organization: Cartrivision Title: Senior Engineer
Summary: Developed media for first consumer video cassette product.
From: 1971
To: 1972
Organization: Memorex Title: Physicist
Summary: Developed magnetic media process and products.
Litigation Support Experience on Request
Professional Affiliations, Achievements, Awards and Other
Phi Kappa Phi, Dean’s List, Honor Roll
Who's Who in Technology, in America, in the World
Co-organizer of two major data storage industry conferences that cover the latest technology in magnetic, optical and flash memories. These are the Storage Visions Conference (www.StorageVisions.com) and the Creative Storage Conference (www.CreativeStorage.org ).
Co-Founder IDEMA (International Disk (Drive) Equipment and Materials Associational) trade association for Disk Drive Industry and 10 year Board member. Chaired various committees
Co-Founder and Past Board member, Magnetic Disk Heritage Center, honoring storage history.
Past Board Member, Southern California Chapter American Vacuum Society
Senior Life Member, IEEE
Member, American Vacuum Society
Member, OSA (Optical Society of America)
Member Computer History Museum Storage Special Interest Group
Created and taught the first KnowledgeTek Optical Storage Technology Course that pertained to DVD technology.
Served 1963-1967 in USAF Security Service to level E4.
Held top secret cryptographic security clearance.
4000 hour instrument rated pilot