Phillip Frank Hider

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2019, 11:00 a.m. in the Chapel at Oak Crest Village, 8800 Walther Blvd., Baltimore MD 21234. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Pl., Memphis TN 38105 www.stjude.org/donate or Taking the Lead, Inc. at Timberbrook Farm, 21000 Slab Bridge Rd., Freeland MD 21053 [email protected]

Phil Hider was born in London, U.K. and grew up there during WWII. He was educated in London, obtaining a Physics Degree from University of London, became a Chartered (Professional) Engineer and married his London bride, Diane, in 1965. While in the U.K. Phil worked for British Scientific Research Association (SIRA) and Molins Machine Company, where he obtained a patent for an optical scanning system. It had always been his goal to emigrate and he duly obtained an interview with Computing Devices of Canada (Bendix Corp.) which offered him a position at their facilities in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Within a month of getting married, Diane and Phil sailed For Ottawa, Canada. While working at Computing Devices of Canada, his primary task, among several, was to help establish a microelectronics facility. He was drafted for six months temporary duty in the USA to learn about microelectronics. Diane and Phil left their Ottawa apartment and possessions, and headed south for six months, with all they could carry in their car. Phil spent that period at Bendix Corp. in Towson Maryland. While there, they made primarily hybrids for the military that included fabricating their own thin film resistors in the high vacuum facility. Towards the end of the six month period, Bendix of Towson made Phil an offer he could not refuse and assisted him in applying for a “Green Card.” The six month temporary work visa expired before the Green Card arrived and he received the first of several deportation notices from the Department of Immigration and Naturalization. After each notice he negotiated an extended stay and eventually got a Green Card. Phil became a US citizen in 1972. He worked at Bendix until work began to run low, then went to AAI, followed by General Instruments. He eventually ended up at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), where he still resides. Phil helps run the Electronic Services Group where it performs electrical design and fabrication services for the Lab. The primary work of the Electronic Services Group is the fabrication of spacecraft, one to journey to Mercury another to Pluto, and a third between the Earth and the Sun. The Group also performs tasks that apply to submarines, surface vessels, ground vehicles, and air craft.

Phil became a member of ISHM in 1989 and attended the Baltimore International Symposium of that year. He has always enjoyed the work of ISHM/IMAPS and attended most of the local chapter meetings and International symposia. He served as the President of the Capital Chapter for several years as well as several other offices, and as the Technical Vice-Chair for the Baltimore 2001 International Symposium. This was a particularly difficult symposium to run as it was held one month after September 11, 2001. The Symposium opening day was the day that the U.S.A. began its campaign in Afghanistan. Phil believes IMAPS to be a very special professional association with its balance of practice and academia, and counts many IMAPS members as his friends and business associates. These include fellow JHU/APL employees, Past President Harry Charles, and President-Elect Bruce Romenesko.

Early in his new “American” life, Phil learned to fly, getting his Private Pilot License and Commercial Pilots License. He then decided that the only way that he could continue flying w as to obtain his flight instructor certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings. This led to his Airline Transport Pilot License and the ability to fly charter, etc. He has flown many thousands of hours over North America including Canada (while still holding his Engineering jobs) and even took a light plane trip with a student (it was his plane) from Baltimore to London, U.K. and back via the Arctic Circle landing in Greenland and Iceland. This was in the days before GPS, and the whole round trip was navigated by dead reckoning, always interesting when as far north as the Arctic Circle.

Diane and Phil have one daughter, born in Maryland, who married into a wonderful Maryland family. Their daughter and son-in-law provided them with a grandson, their pride and joy. Phil now hopes to retire in the not so distant future. To this end he and Diane have designed their own South Western style house which they plan to build in the middle of the Mojave Desert in Nevada. People ask him “Why there?” This question has even been posed bysupposedly intelligent residents of the Mid Atlantic Coastal Region, who endured their residency during the past year of 2003. In answer, he explains that instead of the approximately seven feet of snow, 18 inches of precipitation above annual average with its accompanying humidity, and ravages like hurricane Isabel, he will have to endure no snow, no rain or humidity, no hurricanes and about 360 days a year of unbroken sunshine.

Phil Hider has been a longstanding member of the IMAPS Capital Chapter and has been a Chapter leader and officer for many years. Phil was primarily responsible for the re-establishment of the Capital Chapter’s Symposium and Exhibition at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD, where the Chapter regular meetings have been held over the last several years. Phil was Technical Co-Chair of the IMAPS 2001 Symposium and was responsible for the successful Short Course Program. The IMAPS Capital Chapter is grateful for Phil’s eager participation in the Chapter’s events over many years. It is volunteers like Phil Hider who make IMAAPS the active exciting, forward-thinking organization that it is. Thanks, Phil, for all you have done!