BAKER — American military members have more effective armament because of a Baker man's efforts.
Dr. Don Grundel, the Air Force’s 2013 Senior Civilian Scientist and Engineer of the Year, has a number of achievements including:
• Making a $50 tweak to the 2,000-pound bunker buster BLU-109 bomb. The change increased its fuze survivability against hard targets by 80 percent, which allowed the bomb to more effectively burrow into the target before exploding
• Developing and delivering in 18 months more than 500 BLU-129s, a fiberglass-clad bomb that, unlike metal-clad bombs, is designed to destroy targets but with limited collateral damage
• Qualifying a new type of 25-mm tungsten penetrating ammunition for the F-35 “Lightning II” aircraft undergoing testing at Eglin.
Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, head of the Air Force Materiel Command, presented Grundel with the 2013 Senior Civilian Scientist and Engineer of the Year award during an Oct. 23 ceremony at Eglin Air Force Base.
Grundel, whose duties at Eglin include facility designer, construction manager and positions in intelligence, weaponeering and acquisition, credited his colleagues for their projects’ success.
“This award was simply not possible without the great leadership and the wonderfully talented team members I have had,” he said in an interview with Jasmine Porterfield, an Eglin public affairs officer.
“Sure, the award is appreciated, but that is not what makes coming to work so great. The greatest reward is delivering capability to the war-fighter and having fun doing it.”
When not building better bombs and bullets, Grundel enjoys life on the Baker farm where he lives with his wife, Bonnie, a trio of rare Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs named Peter, Peaches and Pansy, and a host of horses, Big Black and Berkshire pigs, and chickens.
“I’m real proud of him,” Bonnie Grundel said of her husband.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker resident named Air Force's top civilian scientist