Staff

Lee H. Pearson, Ph.D.
President
Dr. Lee Pearson has over 30 years of experience developing and applying ultrasonics and other NDE and sensor-based test and measurement methods. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, in 1976 and a Ph.D. in physics from Utah State University, Logan, Utah, in 1982.

He has worked as an industrial scientist for the solid rocket motor manufacturers — Hercules Aerospace Division, Thiokol Corporation, and ATK (now Orbital ATK). He has also held many positions including supervisor and staff scientist in nondestructive evaluation and sensor technology development at Thiokol/ATK Launch Systems in Utah, Chief Scientist/Product Design Manager at the ATK Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri, and Chief Scientist/R&D Engineers Manager at the ATK Aerospace Composite Structures Division in Utah.  
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Dr. Pearson has supported and participated in research projects including development of ultrasonic methods for characterizing solid rocket motor bondlines, ultrasonic and eddy current techniques for damage and defect detection, and characterization in composite material structures. He has helped design and build ultrasonic/eddy current scanning systems for characterization of localized damage in composite structures. He has also helped with the development of ultrasonic and IR thermography techniques to detect debonds and delaminations in solid rocket motor cases and bondlines, ultrasonic methods for monitoring aging propellant and bondlines, and ultrasonic methods for monitoring physical changes in firing rocket motors.  

Dr. Pearson has specific experience in modeling and testing PVDF sensors, quartz crystal microbalances, and ceramic piezoelectric sensors, fiber optics sensors, and other types of sensors embedded in layered media. He has developed advanced signal processing methods for increasing temporal and spatial resolution in waveform data sets obtained for imaging defects and material property variations. Finally, he has developed many computer programs for both forward and inverse theoretical models, data analysis, and data acquisition to support the development of a variety of physics-based measurement systems.

Erick Griffiths
Engineering Manager
Erick Griffiths earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological engineering from Utah State University, Logan, Utah, in 2007 and a Master of Science degree in biological engineering from Utah State University, Logan, Utah, in 2009.

​Erick has over 10 years of experience working in research and engineering including, but not limited to: conducting and supporting research to develop biosensors, bioreactor design, and biofuel production; designing, building, and operating bioreactors for optimal algal growth and biofuel production; and analyzing soil and water samples, cell culture, compiling and analyzing data, and operating laboratory analytical instruments, such as FTIR bench top spectrometer, FTIR microscope, spectrophotometer, atomic absorption spectrophotometer, gas chromatograph, fluorescence microscope, bright field microscope, atomic force microscope, bench top centrifuge, and continuous flow centrifuge.

He is the primary design engineer for mechanical systems developed by Box Elder Innovations, and also oversees prototyping and building of electo-mechanical control and data acquisition systems.  He is proficient in Solidworks CAD design and developing LabVIEW-based software for system controls, data acquisition, and data analysis.

Tony C. Pearson, Ph.D.
Research & Development Manager
Dr. Tony Pearson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Utah State University, Logan, Utah, in 2007 and a Ph.D. in physics from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, in 2012. 

As a research scientist, Tony has experience as a principle investigator with current specialties in micro/nanofabrication techniques, thin films, carbon nanotube synthesis, process development, and nanoscale surface characterization.

Tony's current work involves development of techniques and procedures in advanced measurement systems including: pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) measurements, ultrasonic and eddy current NDE of materials, thin film polymer based piezoelectric sensor development, COMSOL Multiphysics for physics based simulations, programming and simulations using Python and LabVIEW, thermal and electron beam evaporation, spin coating, and electro and electroless plating.
BEI has published papers and presented at conferences on the programs, data, and research that it has produced over the years. Not only has the company participated in publications and presentations, but members of the staff have also been published in their individual careers. Provided is a link to BEI's staff and company publications. 
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