Shaking Things Up with Washington Labs CEO Mike Violette

Shaking Things Up with Washington Labs CEO Mike Violette
Article by Frederick County Office of Economic Development

How would your cell phone perform at -85 degrees Fahrenheit, after being subjected to hurricane winds and rain, followed by violent shaking similar to forces uses in space? Washington Labs could show you, but it might not be pretty.

Before many manufacturers ever put certain products on the market, there are standards they must meet. When the U.S. Armed Forces wants to take a product in the field that is mission-ready, they rely on a full-service testing facility like Washington Laboratories, Ltd in Frederick to simulate high altitudes, extreme heat, turbine wind and more. This kind of reputation for “finding what doesn’t work” helps product manufacturers make their products better, and safer.

A young Mike Violette was always fascinated with science and engineering and how the universe and things worked. This evolved into an interest in solving technical challenges. Mike began his career with his father and grew Washington Labs from a two-man consulting company to over 50 people in North America, Asia and Europe. continue

Washington Labs, American Certification Body and the Wireless Research Center sign Memorandum of Understanding.

Dr. Gerry Hayes, of the Wireless Research Center and Mike Violette, of Washington Laboratories and ACB

Dr. Gerry Hayes, President and CEO of the Wireless Research Center and Mike Violette, CEO of Washington Laboratories and Director of ACB have signed a Memorandum to expand cooperation in wireless testing and measurements, during the attendance at the recent IEEE Wireless Wearables & Medical Interoperability Workshop (WAMI ’18) in Rockville, MD.

The Wireless Research Center (WRC), located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is a CTIA & Verizon authorized test laboratory and features design services for radio frequency and antenna design. One of the unique features that this cooperation offers is over-the-air testing (OTA) which is critical for measurements supporting the deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) and devices that support Machine to Machine (M2M) connectivity. Mike says “I’m pleased to have access to these unique RF capabilities as we work to build out our wireless services. RF circuit analysis and design are key services. In addition, the WRC offers propagation analysis that will be useful for site planning and radio frequency coverage for network planners.”

Washington Labs provide device certification testing for commercial, aerospace, consumer and defense clients. “Washington Lab’s capabilities provide our clients with full-service measurements solutions for EMC, Safety and Environmental requirements.” Gerry stated. “We’re looking forward to cooperating on education and outreach activities in addition to working on some testing projects and global certifications through ACB.”

Desmond Fraser, Director of ACB said that “The cooperation with the Wireless Research Center is another solid step for ACB’s capabilities expansion. With their resources, we can provide added value for our domestic and global certification customers.”

The agreement covers core competencies that combine the three organizations’ strengths, notably:

Design, Testing and Training for:

• EMI/EMC/Wireless
• FCC, MIL-STD, RTCA DO-160, CE
• Product Safety
• Environmental
• Nuclear EMC
• Performance & Forensic
• EMP
• Medical Device
• Shielding & Facilities
• CTIA & Verizon Authorized OTA Lab
• Pre-Compliance Testing & Mitigation
• Field Testing & Propagation Modeling
• Iot & Wearable Design Support
• Antenna & RF Design
• Simulation & Analysis
• Engineering & Development
• Certification for the United States & Canada
• Notified Body Services for the European Union
• Japan Certification
• Hong Kong OFCA Certification
• International Approvals

The agreement, effective immediately, was inked April 30, 2018.