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Thomas "Tom" Hinke - KK6FJZ

I grew up in Garden Grove, California, where I graduated from high school in 1963. I then graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in December 1967 with an electrical engineering degree.  Shortly after graduation, I attended Air Force Officer Training school, which at that time was located at Lackland AFB and its Medina annex. I graduated from OTS in May 1968.

Upon graduation from OTS,  I was assigned to the Service Engineering Division at the Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area (OCAMA) at Tinker Air Force Base.  Since I was to provide engineering support for radar, I was enrolled in the basic radar course that was given at the local FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. I then provided engineering support for ground control approach (GCA) radar that supported the landing of aircraft at night and during inclement weather.  Many of these GCA radar systems were deployed in Vietnam. During this period, I also earned an M.B.A. degree at night from Oklahoma City University. 

Following my honorable discharge as a Captain after my 4+ years in the Air Force, I earned a computer science master’s degree at UCLA that gained me entry into a career working in industrial  research and development - primarily in the area of computer security.  During this time, I worked for System Development Corporation in Santa Monica, California, and TRW in Redondo Beach, California. During this period, I also completed all of the course requirements and started my dissertation for a Ph.D degree in computer science from the University of Southern California. I finished my dissertation and degree in 1991, a year into my next career. 

My next career was as an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) starting in 1990.  At UAH I taught the database management system courses (and others) and also initiated the first computer security course.  I also performed research in computer security and data mining.  After earning tenure at UAH, I was eligible for an academic-year sabbatical, which faculty members can take to update their knowledge by going to external organizations to work or performing independent study and writing, away from their normal university responsibilities.

I  took my sabbatical at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at the NASA Ames Research Center, in Silicon Valley, California, which operates NASA’s largest supercomputers.  These supercomputers support NASA research at other NASA centers, as well as various universities and companies.  My sabbatical lead into my next career when I was offered a civil servant position at the NAS Division.  There I served as the government lead for cyber security for the division’s computers and networks, including the supercomputers,  I retired from NASA in September 2018.

My amateur radio career started in 2013 while living in San Jose, California and working for NASA. I currently live in the Birmingham, Alabama, area, not too far from where my daughter lives, which was my motivation for moving to the Birmingham area.

In addition to amateur radio, my other activities include motorcycle riding through the very beautiful and very green Alabama countryside. Most of the time, I am riding with fellow members of the local chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA). I also play bass guitar at church about once a month.

My current HF equipment consists of a Yaesu FT DX3000D transceiver with a G5RV antenna. For emergency operations I also have a Yaesu FT-817ND, battery-operable 5 watt transceiver.

In addition to amateur radio, my other activities include motorcycle riding through the very beautiful and very green Alabama countryside. Most of the time, I am riding with fellow members of the local chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA). I also play bass guitar at church about once a month.

My current HF equipment consists of a Yaesu FT DX3000D transceiver with a G5RV antenna. For emergency operations I also have a Yaesu FT-817ND, battery-operable 5 watt transceiver.

73 - Tom Hinke, KK6FJZ, AFFC #616

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