WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Air Force Research Laboratory engineer, Dr. John Hines, was presented with the Pioneer Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society Sept. 17 during the IEEE/AESS meeting in St. Louis, Mo.

Hines received the award for his efforts in the groundbreaking development and deployment of the Very High Speed Integrated Circuits (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL). He is principal electronic engineer for the Navigation and Communications Branch of AFRL's Sensors Directorate.

VHDL is a language that designs and documents digital systems. It revolutionized the design automation industry by providing a standardized language for the design and verification of systems across multiple platforms, via multiple contractors. It has enabled integrated avionics for many complex systems, beginning with the F-22 Raptor.

"The F-22 is a very complex system," said Hines. "Many of the subsystems on board involve multiple contractors. VHDL was used to document the design of many of F-22's subsystems."

Since the F-22, VHDL has been utilized in nearly every major weapon system. It is expected to play a key role in developing future autonomous systems.

The VHDL effort began in 1980 when, as an employee of the Electronics Directorate of Wright Laboratory, Hines recognized the need for a standardized design automation technology. Hines was involved with the project from 1980-1985, with VHDL officially being recognized as IEEE Standard 1076 in 1984. The system's development was a symbiotic relationship between government, industry, and the IEEE, with Hines serving as the lead of the government component of the equation.

"Prior to VHDL, design was pretty much 'schematic entry' through multiple formats. The benefit of VHDL is that a single standard is used for system documentation across multiple contractors," said Hines.

The Pioneer Award has been given annually since 1949 to an individual or team for "contributions significant to bringing into being electronic or aerospace systems that are still in existence today." The contribution must have been made at least 20 years prior to the year of the award, to ensure proper historical perspective.

Hines continues to contribute his talents to AFRL, having been involved in developing digital radar system technology. He was also heavily involved in the development of the U-2 and SR-71 radar systems and the DoD Standard Common Data Link, to which he serves as the Common Data Link Subject Matter Expert to the Air Force.