Our Team

Stuart Britton

Principal Engineer

Britton joins the ARRS team from Paper Clip Engineering, where he has worked as an Independent Consultant since 1994. His recent projects have included utility monitoring systems, wireless access control systems, wireless video systems, medical monitoring systems, ground test support equipment, motion control systems (cargo handling equipment, high speed turbo compressors and power generation), high voltage power systems to 160 kV and pulsed energy systems. Wireless systems have proceeded through FCC certification. Most projects are executed from conceptual design through the manufactured end product. Projects involvement has been from technical support for captive engineering teams through full turnkey product development.

Previously, Britton worked for Elgar Corporation of San Diego as an Engineering Manager in the Power Emulation Group. He managed projects involving the development of ground support equipment for satellite development and production. Systems included solar array simulators and telemetry simulators for every major spacecraft of the early 1990s.

Britton earned his Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (1987), at the University of California at San Diego.

Andy Bushnell

Principal Engineer

Bushnell joins the ARRS team from Lambda B Engineering, where he has worked as an Independent Consultant since 2015. He provides consulting services for pulsed power and power electronics. He has developed advanced high voltage-high frequency power converts for defense applications and advanced pulsed power systems for compact portable X-ray sources. Bushnell also supported the design work of large capacitor bank for the FLARE project. He designed the capacitor bank with greater than 50 MJ, a battery charging system operating with SiC MOSFET’s in the 100 to 250 kHz range, and a high frequency transformer and power supply design exceeding 100 kW.

Prior to his work at Lambda B, Bushnell worked as a Senior Power Electronics Engineer at General Atomics (GA) from 2000 – 2015. At GA, Bushnell designed and developed a high power (greater than 2 MW), power electronic systems. Its applications include pulsed power and large linear motors used in Naval and other transportation systems. He also developed large capacitor banks for rail gun and commercial applications, high power density-high voltage power supplies for high power microwave systems, advanced control systems with high speed fiber optic digital control links, and high speed fiber optic vector control communication system between multiple 2 MW inverter modules.

Additionally, Bushnell has over a decade experience working as the Technical Director of PurePulse Technologies Corp., of San Diego and spent 7 years as the Senior Staff Engineer at Maxwell Laboratories.

Bushnell earned his Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (1976), and Master of Science, Electrical Engineering (1978) from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

Randy Cooper

Principal Engineer

Cooper joins the ARRS team from Cooper Consulting Services, Inc., where he has worked as a Consultant since 2001. His consulting specializes in development and fabrication of pulsed power and high voltage systems, solid state power conditioning, plasma light sources and switches, disinfection and purification of liquids and surfaces, and in development and management of overall engineering management and engineering documentation systems.

Cooper also founded Ultraviolet Sciences/NeoTech Aqua Solutions of San Diego in 2002, and currently serves as Chairman of the company. His start-up company develops ultraviolet light source-based products for water purification. As the founder, Cooper completed successful initial and second rounds of funding, procured additional government contract funding to supplement private funding, and negotiated license of base technology patents. He personally developed new technological advances which led to patented technologies in two different technology areas and successfully launched and sustained a complete product family of water disinfection systems based on those patented technologies into several separate commercial markets.

Previously, Cooper served as the CEO of NanoElectromagnetics, LLC. in Columbia, Missouri. This start-up worked to commercialize nanomaterials with targeted electromagnetic and physical properties. Cooper has also served as the Vice President of Engineering and Development for TEAL Electronics, Inc. where he was responsible for the technical performance of all company products and for leading all engineering and R&D efforts for a $20 million manufacturing company as well as the creation and oversight of objectives and budgets for engineering. Under his leadership, the R&D departments doubled productivity and reduced the average cost of mature product line by over 15% in two years.

Cooper earned his Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (1982), Master of Science, Electrical Engineering (1983), and Ph.D of Electrical Engineering (1986) from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He also completed the Executive Program for Scientists and Engineers (1997) from the University of California, San Diego, California.

Richard Ness

Principal Engineer

Ness joins the ARRS team from Ness Engineering, Inc., where he has served as President since 2001. His company provides consulting and limited production and prototype development projects for a variety of defense and commercial companies and technologies. Systems include, but are not limited to, thyratron modulators, capacitor charging power supply systems, magnetic switch designs, fast risetime solid-state pulse generators, laser diode drivers, solid-state Marx generators, non-linear transmission lines, photoconductive switching, magnetic pulse compression systems, and custom pulse generators. His customer base has included Agilent Technologies Inc., Barbour Well Inc., Cymer, D&K Engineering, Excelitas Technologies Corp., Excico, Exelis, General Atomics, General Fusion Inc., Helion Energy, Hologic, Illumina Inc., Intevac Inc., iPhoton Solutions Inc., ITT Systems, KLA-Tencor, M7 Electro-Optics, Magnetics Inc., MesoCoat Inc., Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Optiswitch Technology Corp., Pulsed Power Technologies Inc., QMAT Inc., Ra Medical, Selfrag AG, T&M Research Products Inc., TPL, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and many others.

Prior to his founding of Ness Engineering, Ness worked from 1995 – 2009 at Cymer, Inc. where he most recently served as Member of Technical Staff Engineer in the Solid State Pulsed Power Module Engineering Department. Ness also acted as Project Engineer for guiding technical development of XLA-300 (and XLR-500) 6 kHz MOPA laser power system. He also developed critical technologies for water cooled thermal management of 6 kHz magnetic switch assemblies (U.S. Patent 7,002,443), coaxial cable with Litz wire center conductor and corresponding connector designs (patent pending), and electrical stress controlled HV cable termination design. Ness supported technical development of higher power, XLX-200, 6 kHz, SSPPMs for broadband lasers used in flat panel annealing applications.

Additionally at Cymer, Ness was responsible for entire power system design to support development of a Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) system as an Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light source for Next Generation Lithography. System highlights included: High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS), Command Resonant Charging System with De-Qing, SSPPM Pulse Generator and Magnetic Pulse Compressor, and a separate Pre-Ionization System as well as a 20 J/pulse DPF SSPPM power system with demonstrated operation at 5 kHz burst and 2.5 kHz continuous duty cycle (limited by thermal management of load electrodes). Ness also Led technical development of power system for first generation production Master Oscillator Power Amplifier (MOPA) XLA laser product lines requiring two separate 4 kHz power systems with differential timing synchronization better than 2-3 ns under varied challenging operating conditions

Ness also worked for over a decade at Maxwell Technologies (Now L-3 Pulse Sciences) as Technical Group Leader and Senior Staff Engineer in the Pulsed Power Technology and Product Development Department.

Ness earned his Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (1981) and Master of Science, Electrical Engineering (1983) from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.