White Sands Missile Range Hall of Fame Biographies

In the 1960s, working as a staff engineer and then senior engineer, Quinlan was responsible for systems modernization, purchasing them, their evaluation, and installation. When a requirement came up to support Lance missile tests and some of the contracted equipment wasn’t ready yet, Quinlan designed, and hand built a unit to use in the interim. It worked and the project was able to test without any delays or shortage of data. His ingenuity and drive did not go unnoticed, and he was given more responsibility.

Eventually Quinlan was given the task of preparing the requirements and specifications for the missile range’s Telemetry Data Center which is the hub for all the data being generated during the test that would be transmitted to the ground by radio. This was a period of great advancement in solid state electronics and computers. Quinlan wrote up the specifications and made sure the proposed center was equipped with the newest equipment. Because it was on the cutting edge, the winning bid was not the lowest bid. Quinlan was then part of a team that went to higher headquarters and successfully defended the unusual award. The Telemetry Data Center was the most advanced facility at the time and continues to be updated to keep up with demands for its use.

In 1987, Quinlan was assigned as the chief of the Targets Control Branch. The political and military leaders who pay for or run the development of new weapon systems usually like to see them tested against realistic targets. At the time, Patriot, America’s most advanced air defense missile system, had a requirement to identify, track and destroy multiple jets flying in formation. Quinlan led a project to develop a computer-driven Drone Formation Control System (DFCS). Eventually it would fly, by remote control, six jet-propelled drones as targets for the Patriot to find and destroy.

After his retirement from Federal service in 1996, Quinlan continued working in the field as a consultant and a contractor at White Sands.