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WAKEFIELD, Mass., September, 2016 – With great sadness we learned of Joseph Pavlat’s passing on Wednesday August 31, 2016 at his home in Grass Valley, California. Joe was born on Feb 4, 1953 in Madison Wisconsin. He was a man of many passions and interests. From flying planes, driving sports cars, hiking, writing, and traveling, Joe rarely took the easy or simple route. Everyone who knew him or had the opportunity to work with him knew he was straightforward, a bit opinionated, extraordinarily caring, and loyal. Raised in Wisconsin, he and his brother made the move to California together in the mid-seventies to help lead the burgeoning computer revolution. After settling in California, he met and married Denise Pavlat (nee Gouffe).

Joe started down the path of becoming a physicist while studying at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. While he was there he realized he was drawn to designing computers and instrumentation. He stayed actively connected to physics throughout his adult life by participating in experiments in Antarctica and on top of the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii. Joe also volunteered his time flying for the Monterey Sheriff’s department Aero Squadron.

A pioneer of Embedded Computing, Joe spent over 36 years building and evangelizing the value of open architectures. His career included leadership positions at Prolog, Motorola and Parker Hannifin. From 1995 until his passing he was the president and chairman of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG). He was directly involved in the development of both the CompactPCI® and AdvancedTCA® standards. He was the heart of our organization and largest proponent of our structure that gives every member a voice, and the IP policies that enable safe collaboration.
Joe’s passion for writing and all things PICMG made for a perfect partnership with Open Systems Media where he served as Editorial Director for several PICMG publications.
Joe’s brother Russell predeceased him and he is survived by his wife Denise Pavlat. Per his wishes, no services are being held.

This week, the Mars rover Opportunity celebrated its 12th anniversary on the red planet, having  landed there on Jan. 24, 2004. The rover is still functioning, and has an exploratory mission over the winter in “Marathon Valley” in the Endeavour crater.

Opportunity is controlled by two CompactPCI computers, designed and built by BAE Systems.

When Opportunity first landed, the NASA team thought the harsh Martian environment would render it useless in a matter of months. But the golf cart-sized rover, powered by solar energy, is still collecting data today.

CompactPCI remains a vital and important technology for a wide range of applications, and is widely used in satellites and other space applications. It’s rugged and it works.

Congratulations to the NASA engineers and support teams, and BAE.

Joe Pavlat

PICMG

Members sought to help define requirements and expand technology platform

Wakefield, MA,– PICMG, a leading standards organization for embedded computing applications, is forming a new working group to extend CompactPCI Serial technology to space applications. CompactPCI Serial is a fairly new platform that adds fast serial interfaces and integral networking to CompactPCI, dramatically increasingly its performance and speed.

The sub-committee is currently seeking additional companies to help plan and develop the new Space CompactPCI Serial standard.  Interested parties are invited to contact PICMG ([email protected]).

Manfred Schmitz, CEO of MEN Mikro Elektronik GmbH, who is organizing the subcommittee, noted, “CompactPCI itself has been a trusted platform in space for several decades.  This new sub-committee will identify the specific factors needed to ensure the simple and successful use of CompactPCI Serial in space applications today and into tomorrow.” MEN Mikro Elektronik GmbH is the parent company of MEN Micro Inc., the North American subsidiary.

The new working group, Space CompactPCI Serial will also include PICMG member companies and well-known industry leaders, such as Airbus Defense & Space, Thales Alenia Space, and STI Spacetech.

Specific application needs within the space environment will be the focus of the new group. Topics currently identified include environmental factors, fault detection and provisions for high availability as well as the need for serial interfaces such as SpaceWire and Rapid I/O for board-to-board communication.

Joe Pavlat, president of PICMG, notes, “Extending CompactPCI Serial into space applications is the next step in the development of this time-proven family of standards. The CompactPCI Serial base specification has the mechanical and conduction cooling technologies needed for space already defined and in place. Both 3U and 6U Eurocard formats are supported.”

As with the initial development of the CompactPCI Serial standard, one of the major goals is to keep the technology straightforward, understandable, and to guarantee maximum interoperability between bus slots and boards.

With Space CompactPCI Serial, designers can implement leading edge technical solutions for this highly specialized market while reusing and evolving proven technology. This will provide increased flexibility and significant cost reductions when compared to custom, single vendor solutions for space.

CompactPCI technology has a long standing history in space applications, from the famous “Curiosity” Mars Rover and satellite control to performing scientific tasks on the International Space Station.   A typical application envisioned for Space CompactPCI Serial is the implementation of the platform and the payload controller onboard satellites.

• Space CompactPCI Serial Working Group
• Committee members sought for insights, contributions and developments
• Charter for the working group includes the addition of space-related serial interconnects as well as the inclusion of high availability, fault detection, and environmental requirements unique to applications in outer space
• Latest extension of PICMG’s CompactPCI family of standards
• Will build on CompactPCI’s long standing history in space applications

For additional information on CompactPCI Serial visit CompactPCI Serial