Integer Technologies

When mourners gather this afternoon at First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia to remember the late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, Integer’s Andrew Wunderlich will be in attendance, but the engineering manager will be more than a passive observer. He will stand with his church’s sanctuary choir, lending his voice to a service that carries a personal meaning. Music has been part of Andrew’s life for as long as he can remember. He began studying violin at age five, inspired by his grandfather, a German immigrant whose violin Andrew now keeps as a family heirloom. After 12 years of lessons, he entered college as an accomplished violinist. Singing came later, first through a small church where the congregation often sang a cappella. Hearing each harmony without accompaniment taught him to listen, find his part and contribute to something larger than himself. Andrew sings weekly at First Baptist, a short walk from Integer’s Columbia headquarters. He has performed for Senator Graham before, including a solo during one of the church’s annual patriotic celebrations, but today’s service will be different. For Andrew, the decision to sing is rooted in respect for Graham’s public service, as well as a gratitude for the senator’s impact on his own life. As a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina, Andrew worked on power and energy research that helped launch his career at Integer. Graham’s lifelong championing of the South Carolina economy contributed to growth of tech jobs in the region and helped create advanced research opportunities and jobs in the Palmetto State. “Apart from Lindsey Graham and his advocacy for South Carolina, there was likely no career for me here in Columbia,” said Andrew. The work allowed him and his wife to remain in the community they call home while he built a career advancing technologies important to national security. Now, Andrew will join more than a hundred other voices in his hometown choir to honor Graham, a fitting expression of remembrance, service and gratitude for a life whose influence reached into his own.

𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿-𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Mission-critical systems don’t get second chances. Our cyber-physical resilience tech uses advanced simulation and AI-driven attack emulation to evaluate how unmanned vehicles, robotic systems, and industrial controls respond under real-world threats. Before those threats become reality. See how: https://lnkd.in/eMWuDjpj

Looking forward to seeing our VP of Research, Dylan Temple, on stage next week at Technology Forum's iDEa Conference in Delaware. Dylan will discuss how photonics is driving innovation across the blue economy, including technologies shaping maritime operations, energy systems, and ports. The conversation aligns with our growing work in Delaware, where we're partnering with the University of Delaware to advance #OceanRobotics and #UnmannedSystems.

📢 The Q2 Integer SitRep is in!   This quarter reflects the momentum our team continues to build – powered by dedication, strengthened by our partnerships, and focused on delivering for our customers. To our employees and partners: thank you for the difference you make each day. Together, we’re pushing the mission forward. 

Integer, Bedrock Ocean Exploration, and Liquid Robotics showcased an integrated architecture linking autonomous undersea vehicles to shore operators through a resilient, low-bandwidth communications demonstration for the United States Department of War last month. Our solution delivers persistent subsea sensing, safer standoff operations, and faster mission decisions, all managed from shore. Together, we will continue advancing the integration, expanding multivehicle operations, and supporting future DOW and Navy demonstrations.  Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/e35xueJh

We were honored to join the beam-signing ceremony for the University of New Hampshire's new Center of Excellence for Operational Ocean and Great Lakes Mapping. We wrote “One Team, One Dream” on the beam – one of Integer’s core values and a reflection of the strong relationship we’re building with UNH. Pictured with U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, we marked this milestone following last month’s announcement of our new office on campus and work advancing acoustic technologies for the U.S. Navy. The new center will help advance ocean mapping, research, and future maritime capabilities. Exciting things are ahead! George Nickolopoulos, Tyler Johnson, Jennifer Miksis-Olds, Elizabeth Chilton, Anthony Lyons, Justine Stadler 

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 Andrew Boland grew up on a farm where winter nights came with one unforgettable view. “When it got really cold, you could look up and see the Milky Way.” Those nights sparked a fascination with space that stayed with him. At 15, he visited Kennedy Space Center and watched a SpaceX launch from the viewing platform. Seeing the scale of what engineers could accomplish made something click. “I knew engineering was the right thing for me at that point. To be able to send things to space and the feats of engineering around it that make it possible has spurred on my interest in engineering and research,” he said. But Andrew’s curiosity about the world around him started much closer to home. Growing up on a farm, he was constantly taking things apart, fixing equipment, and figuring out how things worked. By middle school, a teacher noticed his passion for STEM and pushed him toward the county’s vocational school, where he could turn that curiosity into hands-on experience. He went on to study computer engineering at USC Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing, where he joined the Integer-USC research team developing #DigitalTwin technology that helps Navy ship operators make better decisions in real time. As a student researcher, Andrew helped with the project from USC's side. This summer, he's working alongside the engineers at Integer as an intern, seeing it from an entirely different vantage point. “The challenges we’re solving for look very different on the engineering side versus research, and engineering moves a lot faster. I hope this experience at Integer will help me speed up my research and in turn complete engineering steps faster.” In the fall, he’ll return to USC for his doctoral program and continue his work on the project, bringing with him firsthand industry experience. Then, in January, he’ll join Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory to work in spacecraft power engineering and contribute to NASA’s Dragonfly mission. From repairing equipment on his family farm to building digital twins with the Integer-USC team, Andrew’s journey has always been about understanding how things work. That curiosity continues to drive the engineering challenges he’s helping solve today.

𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Powering the next generation of #UnderseaSystems requires energy and insight. Integer and NautiGEN are partnered to provide: 🌊𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 to #UUV and other underwater system operators 🌊𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 with go/no-go recommendations 🌊𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 via real-time display of operational information

Underwater vehicle missions demand absolute operator confidence, especially when communications are limited or intermittent. Our DIGIT Mission Assurance Platform fuses high-fidelity digital twins with real-time environmental forecasting, empowering uniformed operators to assess, coordinate, and adapt mission plans at the tactical edge.  Integer is a Gold Sponsor of this month’s Naval Submarine League Subsea & Seabed Warfare and Technology Symposium. Connect with Aaron Wagner, David Pearson, or Dillon Helfers to learn more about DIGIT and our efforts to advance undersea operations with partners including Cellula Robotics Ltd., Metron Inc., Bedrock Ocean Exploration, and NautiGEN. 

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 “I think I have a VHS recording of me at five or six years old telling my dad I wanted to be an engineer.”   As a kid, Garrett Sampson spent hours inside the 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 video game building worlds from scratch. Writing logic. Creating interaction. Once, he built birthday levels for his parents where confetti would explode as they walked through.  “I would get so into it.”  At 15, after spending months doing yardwork to buy his first computer, Garrett searched for one question he had always wondered about that would take him on an entirely different path: How do you become an actor?  Weeks later, he found a talent agency in New Orleans, emailed them without telling his parents, and scheduled an audition. The agency only accepted adults, so he told them he was 18.  “They obviously knew I wasn’t,” he laughed. “But I showed up in a suit with my parents, told them why I’d be worth taking a chance on, and they signed me anyway.” When he turned 18, the calls started.  “I got my first call to be a side character on a Tyler Perry TV show. I was a basketball character with the main actors, and I got to do stunts,” Garrett said. More work followed like Emancipation with Will Smith. Instead of heading back to his trailer between scenes, Garrett stayed on set, asking questions and watching how everything worked behind the camera. “One conversation led to another, then another. Eventually I got a job offer from Marvel, but it was secretive. I didn’t know who I’d be working for. I didn’t know my schedule. They just said I had to move to Georgia. I was 18 – I said yes!” That leap launched his production assistant career, where he worked on projects including Black Panther, Ironheart, Teen Wolf, and other productions.  The days were long, the schedules unpredictable, and every problem demanded a quick solution. Somewhere in between, he started thinking less about being on screen and more about the dream of his childhood.  At his dad’s encouragement, Garrett visited The University of Southern Mississippi, where he began studying computer engineering. This summer, Garrett is an intern in our Gulfport office on USM’s campus, helping develop a modular #USV with 3D-printed components and integrated sonar sensors. “My entire life I’ve wanted to become an engineer that makes a difference. In my short time at Integer, I’ve already found the tools, support, and purpose to turn that lifelong goal into a reality.”