Personality of the Month, Mel Doelz

Much HAS BEEN SAID about the great significance of a recent development, the Collins Mechanical Filter, but little has been mentioned about the man behind the scenes who directed the transformation of the Filter from a laboratory novelty to a commercial product. He is Mel Doelz, Director of Engineering at the Western Division.

Doelz’ work in the field of modern ccmmunications since he came to Collins in 1941 from the University of Minnesota has made him one of the country’s top electronic engineers. He possesses a thorough knowledge of mathematics, basis of electrical engineering, with which he has turned communications theory into practice. While at Collins, he has averaged almost two patents a year, a total of 18 accepted and two pending.

Some of his current projects cannot be discussed here for reasons of security, but the job he is doing on the receiver portion of Collins predicted wave teletype system, which is still in testing stages but promises an outstanding future, is another example of his work.

A tall, quiet, pleasant man, Mel is greatly respected as both an engineer and administrator. In a discussion his words are likely to be few but judiciously chosen. Off duty, he, Mrs. Doelz (whom he met and married in Burbank) and son John might be seen in his Sunbeam Talbot sports roadster.

He began his electrical career after high school as a telephone lineman.

At Minnesota, he received his BSEE degree, then furthered his studies with graduate work there in ’45-’46 and at the State University of Iowa, where he received his MS degree, in ’47-’48. In 1951 he became WD Chief Engineer.